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Dr.  Andrew  Malcolm  Morrison 

( This  photo  taken  after  the  Author *s  hundredth  birthday.) 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 


AT 


100 


YEARS    AND    MORE 


BY 
REV.  ANDREW  MALCOLM  MORRISON 


PubKshedby 

AUSTIN    PUBLISHING   CO., 

Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


Copyright,  1921 
By  Andrew  Malcolm  Morrison 


CHAPTER  I 
REMARKABLE  CASES  OF  LONGEVITY 

A  GREAT  French  expert,  Dr.  Metchnikoff, 
declares  that  no  one  need  grow  old.  Of 
course,  time  will  elapse,  and  the  number 
of  a  man's  years  will  increase,  but  he 
need  not  experience  any  loss  of  vitality. 

The  reason  why  we  decay,  according  to  the 
Doctor,  is  because  we  suffer  from  a  distressing 
complaint  which  he  has  named  "macrophagocy- 
tosis."  Now  what  do  you  think  of  that?  And 
Dr.  Metchnikoff  vows  he  can  cure  it.  In  a  hun- 
dred years,  he  says,  there  will  be  no  such  thing 
as  death  from  old  age — it  will  be  abolished,  as 
many  other  diseases  are  being  stamped  out  by 
Medical  gentlemen.  0  Lordy !  Please  excuse  the 
infantile  profanity.  Medical  gentlemen  stamping 
out  disease!  Well,  sir,  that  "jars"  me  sure.  He 
says  death  will  soon  have  few  opportunities  "of 
getting  one  in  on  us." 

I'm  not  so  sure  that  this  is  a  very  desirable 
prospect.  If  people  go  on  being  born,  and  other 
people  meanly  avoid  dying,  there  will  soon  be  a 
state  of  competition,  and  congestion,  quite  un- 
endurable. 

Moreover,  murder  would  receive  quite  an 
impetus,  and  DeQuincy's  suggestion  "that  it 
should  be  regarded  as  a  fine  art"  would  be  car- 
ried out.  There  would  be  a  run  on  poleaxes: 
and  a  murderer  who  made  a  slight  clearance  in 
the  jungle  of  humanity,  instead  of  being  regarded 
as  a  criminal,  would  be  rewarded  from  the  poor 


489538 


6  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

box;  or,  perhaps,  Knighted.  I  am  inclined  to 
think  the  present  system,  which  allows  the  Doc- 
tors "to  polish  off"  a  decent  number  of  victims 
every  year  is,  on  the  whole,  a  better  plan. 

In  November,  1898,  the  Journal  Des  Debats 
published  a  statement  showing  the  number  of 
Centenarians  then  living  in  Europe;  a  statement 
which  was  accepted,  and  reproduced  by  the 
"mighty  Mulhall."  The  total  was  1,498,  and  the 
manner  of  their  distribution  was  thusly :  Ireland, 
578;  Spain,  401;  France,  243;  England,  146; 
Germany,  75;  and  Scotland,  46;  apparently  in 
the  countries  not  named,  there  were  no  100-year- 
olds.  There  may  be  good  reason  for  this,  but  I 
confess  I  cannot  understand  it. 

SjC  SfC  5|C  «fC  3|C  3|( 

I  wonder  if  Ireland  is  proud  of  her  preemi- 
nence in  this  respect,  and  of  the  fact  that  she 
had  almost  five  times  as  many  centenarians  as 
England,  and  more  than  twelve  times  as  many 
as  Scotland.  Perhaps  her  brave  sons  regard  it 
as  a  grievance.  I  look  on  it  in  this  way — it  is 
notorious  that  many  of  the  young  people  emi- 
grate from  Ireland,  and  thus,  if  the  old  did  not 
persist  in  living  there  would  be  no  one  left.  But 
I  will  present  a  better  reason  for  Irish  longevity 
as  we  proceed.  I  will  show  that  Irish  longevity 
is  a  thing  of  morals,  dietetics,  and  climate.  They 
hold  on  in  the  interest  of  patriotism,  and  in  de- 
fiance of  the  Saxon.  They  remain  as  a  garrison, 
keeping  at  bay  alike  John  Bull,    and  that  grisly 

monster  known  as  the  king  of  terrors. 

****** 

It  may  be  that  men  live  to  a  great  age  in 
Ireland  because  of  the  sustaining  power  con- 
tained in  the  potato.  There  is  a  proud  old  song 
beginning : 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  7 

Crest  of  the  O'Shaughnashane, 
That's  a  potato  plain; 
Long  may  your  root  every  Irish-man  know ! 
Pats  long  have  stuck  to  it, 
Long  bid  good  luck  to  it. 
Whack  for  O'Shaughnashane.     Tooly  whang 

Ho. 
And  so,  possibly  it  is  this  vitalizing  root  that 
enables  Pat  to  face  the  still,  sad  music  of  hu- 
manity for  100  years  and  more.  Or  it  may  be 
that  the  native  pugnacity  of  our  Irish  friends 
causes  them  to  sing  out  "Never  say  die,"  and  to 

mean  it. 

****** 

Then  there  is  the  puzzling  case  of  Scotland. 
Why  are  Centenarians  so  scarce  in  that  land  of 
the  mountain,  and  the  flood?  It  is  enough  to 
make  the  Caledonian  both  stern,  and  wild.  Well, 
thoughtful  observers  have  suggested  two  reasons. 
First,  the  long  life  is  a  rather  expensive  business. 
In  a  general  way,  a  man  who  dies  when  he  is 
fifty  expends  less  money.  That  is  to  say  "He 
bangs  fewer  saxpences"  than  the  man  who  lives 
to  be  100.  It  would  be  unphilosophical  to  say 
that  the  man  who  dies  saves  money;  but  he  cer- 
tainly ceases  to  spend  money,  and  this  fact  ap- 
pealing to  the  "metapheezical,"  and  economical 
instincts  of  a  great  people,  may  have  brought 
Centenarianism  into  disrepute  in  Scotland. 
Shakespeare  may  have  been  thinking  about  some- 
thing of  the  sort  when  he  wrote  about  "The 
calamity  of  too  long  life." 

Let  no  one  say  that  a  man  or  woman  is  neces- 
sarily old  when  100,  for  this  is  not  the  case. 
There  have  been  some  notable  instances  of  people 
showing  that  one  may  have  a  long  life,  and  a 
merry  one.     Look   at  that  noble   and   excellent 


8  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

lady,  the  Countess  of  Desmond,  who  was  killed 
in  the  146th  year  of  her  age,  by  falling  from  a 
cherry  tree.  There  is  no  sign  of  decrepitude  or 
decay  about  a  lady,  who,  when  she  has  scored 
almost  a  century  and  a  half,  can  scramble  up  a 
tree  like  a  squirrel.  And  Tom  Parr  lived  to  be 
152,  and  died  after  a  dinner  party  at  Lord 
Arundel's,  on  which  occasion  I  understand  that 
Thomas  had  been  the  life  and  soul  of  the  party. 
He  probably  overdid  the  thing  a  little,  and  of 
course  accidents  may  happen  under  the  best  reg- 
ulations. Then  there  was  the  case  of  Madam 
Rovero,  who  passed  away  in  1741.  She  was  then 
164,  and  left  a  son  aged  116. 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  out  whether  the 
poor  little  fellow  grew  up  or  whether  the  shock, 
occasioned  by  the  premature  death  of  his  Mamma 
cut  him  off  early  in  his  centenarianism. 

John  Riva  of  Venice,  was  also  an  interesting 
gentleman,  as  he  was  116  when  he  died,  AND 
HE  LEFT  A  SON  OF  14!  Eh!  What  do  ye 
think  of  that  now?  Able  to  reproduce  himself 
at  the  age  of  102 !    Say,  "that's  goin'  some."    Eh ! 

It  is  said  of  John  that  "he  chewed  citron  bark 
daily,"  but  the  statement  that  he  said,  "I  can  live 
as  long  as  I  chew,"  lacks  confirmation. 

According  to  Pliny,  there  were  in  the  part 
of  Italy  between  the  Apennines  and  the  river  Po, 
in  the  year  76  A.  D.,  fifty-four  people  103  years 
old;  fifty-seven,  110  years;  two,  120  years;  four, 
130  years ;  four,  135  years ;  and  three,  140  years. 
That  is  what  Pliny  says. 

Real  men  and  women,  have  lived  100  to  150 
years  in  this  present  life  during  the  current 
Centuries.  I  will  proceed  to  give  their  history, 
habits,  manner  of  life,  supposed  causes  of  their 
longevity,  and  how  we  all  may  attain  longer  life 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  9 

and  greater  efficiency  than  we  can  now  possibly 
have  under  present  dietetic,  industrial  and  social 
habits.  I  have  from  history  established  the  fact 
of  many  having  lived  to  the  100  years  and  over, 
and  still  being  efficient,  and  enjoying  life,  with- 
out the  querulous  broken  heartedness  of  old  age. 

Real  men  and  women  have  lived  to  100  and 
176  years  in  this  present  life  during  the  past 
and  present  centuries.  And  many  such  are  now 
living,  and  are  neither  short-stepped  nor  wheezy. 
We  have  quite  a  number  of  men  and  women  past 
90,  and  some  of  them  approaching  the  100,  in 
the  Centenarian  Club  of  Los  Angeles,  of  which 
I  am  proud  to  be  a  member. 

Say,  Friends,  I  am  not  about  to  speculate,  or 
to  discuss  opinions,  whether  Physiological,  or 
Psychological.  I  am  determined  to  give  you 
actual  history.  The  speculator  and  myself  don't 
harmonize  very  well.  The  philosophers  have 
made  me  very  tired;  especially  the  "Nu-thot" 
variety,  and  "The  great  within"  men. 

Now  for  real  history.  A  certain  Doctor,  and 
a  very  eminent  one  at  that,  has  been  giving  us 
counsel  in  the  health  department  of  the  News- 
papers. He  asserted  in  one  of  these  "Health 
Lessons  "that  no  proof  ever  had  come  forth  to 
prove  that  anyone  had  lived  100  years."  Well, 
we'll  see  before  I'm  through.  For,  as  Burns  says, 
"Facts  are  chiels  that  winna  ding,  and  dare  na 
be  disputed." 

Also,  when  lately  lecturing  in  one  of  the 
churches  in  Los  Angeles  on  "Sanctification  by 
the  Spirit,"  a  certain  official  of  the  Church,  fol- 
lowed by  reading  a  diatribe  from  some  profes- 
sional crank  who,  like  the  famous  author  of 
"Health  Lessons,"  asserted  that  no  one  ever  had 
lived  100  years,  and  demanded  from  me  some 


10  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

particular  proof  that  what  I  asserted  was  true. 

Well,  sir,  1  was  delighted,  quite  charmed,  with 
the  incident.  It  was  proof  to  me  strong  as  Holy 
writ,  that  I  was  a  living  example  of  my  doctrine 
of  "Sanctification  by  the  Spirit."  Had  it  not 
been  so,  my  unregenerated  IRISH  would  immed- 
iately have  introduced  a  new  soul  to  St.  Peter. 
I  now  know  beyond  a  doubt  that  I  am  "sanctified 
by  the  Spirit." 

I  begin  the  record  of  these  remarkable  lives 
by  choosing  my  first  examples  from  the  Irish, 
which  I  believe  is  universally  acknowledged  to 
be  the  most  celebrated  for  Longevity  among  the 
races  of  the  earth.  I  am  repeating  the  record 
of  a  ceremony  peculiarly  Irish.  It  is  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  78th  anniversary  of  the  marriage  of 
two  Irish  peasants  who,  after  78  years  of  wed- 
lock's trials  and  disturbances,  were  still  sweet- 
hearts, with  unwrinkled  forehead. 

New  York,  April  14th,  1918.  "Married  for 
seventy-eight  years,  believed  to  be  the  oldest  liv- 
ing married  couple  in  New  Jersey.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  McCandless,  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  are 
still  sweethearts,  as  they  were  years  ago  in  the 
old  days,  when  they  wooed  beside  the  Blarney 
stone  in  Ireland. 

"We  are  enjoying  the  Spring  breezes,"  said 
Mr.  McCandless,  who  is  98  years  old.  "I  love 
the  Spring,  for  it  was  in  this  season  of  the  year 
that  I  won  my  greatest  happiness — my  wife." 
He  turned  to  the  little  woman  by  his  side,  who 
looks  to  be  60,  rather  than  96  "Little  did  we 
think  eighty  years  ago  when  we  met,  that  we 
should  live  to  have  sixteen  great-grand  children, 
did  we  dear?  However,  I  recall  your  vow  that 
you  would  live  with  me  '  until  the  stars  forgot  to 
shine,  and  the  waves  forget  to  roll/     Complete 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  11 

the  stanza  which  you  said, — and  the  old  lady 
answered:  'I  am  forever  thine,  and  to  thee  I 
give  my  heart  and  soul/  "  She  smiled  teasingly, 
as  she  added,  "I  said  that  only  because  it  rhymed 
with  the  first  two  lines."  Note. — There  are  no 
divorces  in  Ireland,  and  that  helps  some  in  Lon- 
gevity.   See? 

On  October  27th,  1916,  there  was  living  in 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  a  Negro,  James  Mitchell,  99 
years  old,  who  registered  that  morning  in  Ar- 
gentine. Mitchell  was  a  bachelor  until  he  was 
97  years  old.  Then  he  married  a  very  young 
woman,  Polly  Red.  Mitchell  is  a  gardener  and 
works  hard  every  day.  He  is,  of  course,  a  Re- 
publican. He  told  Chas.  A.  Payne,  the  city  clerk, 
that  since  he  was  set  free  he  had  never  missed 
voting  at  a  Presidential  Election,  and  at  only  two 
State  Elections.  Mitchell  was  born  in  Mississippi. 
He  came  West  after  the  war.  He  is  a  property 
owner. 

Now  this  gentleman  knows  nothing  of  Psy- 
chology, Health  exercises,  Divine  breath,  etc.  He 
knows  something  of  hard  work,  tho.  He  must 
have  been  a  vigorous  youth  at  97,  when  he  was 
able  to  bewiggle  Polly  Red,  a  very  young,  vivacious 
and  vigorous  damsel,  into  wifehood.  Honest 
now,  don't  you  think  so? 

Now  I  leave  the  wise  "Health-Guides,  and 
Mental-Therapeutists"  to  fix  this  up.  It's  beyond 
me,  and  I  know  Mitchell  knew  nothing  about  any 
of  them. 

Now,  here's  another:  Boston,  February  11th, 
1915.  For  the  first  time  in  many  years,  Thomas 
McNab,  the  95-year-old  Weymouth  man,  who  has 
been  paying  court  to  Mrs.  Alice  Clark,  74  years 
of  age,  of  Northampton,  today  stood  before  the 
forge  in  his  blacksmith  shop  in  Union  street, 


12  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

Weymouth,  and  worked  at  his  trade  making  high 
grade  tools  now  used  in  Automobile  manufactur- 
ing. 

McNab  returned  to  Weymouth,  after  spending 
several  days  at  the  home  of  his  prospective  bride's 
daughter  in  Northampton,  with  the  statement 
that  the  wedding  had  been  postponed  for  a  brief 
time  at  the  request  of  his  future  step-daughter, 
who,  he  said,  desired  her  mother  to  wait  until 
the  discussion  over  the  coming  event  had  died 
down  a  little,  and  McNab  made  more  money ! ! 

Now,  whose  business  was  it,  I  wonder?  Say, 
people  will  be  busy  about  everyone's  business  but 
their  own.  O  these  gossipers!  Say,  if  there  is 
no  hell,  there  ought  to  be  one,  for  the  gossip  needs 
eternal  discipline,  and  even  with  it  all  his  michief- 
making  instinct  cannot  be  controlled. 

Now  here  is  a  woman  who  leads  the  proces- 
sion, as  is  the  privilege  of  the  angelic  sex,  God 
bless  'em. 

Healdsburg,  Cal.,  Jan.  29th,  1917.  Grandma 
Electa  Kennedy  celebrated  her  104th  birthday  to- 
day. She  enjoyed  an  automobile  ride  with  Dr. 
A.  J.  Swisher  around  the  Plaza,  and  handled  the 
wheel  of  the  machine  during  the  journey.  She 
is  the  oldest  Fraternal  woman  in  the  world,  being 
a  member  of  the  Sotoyome  Chapter,  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star. 

Now  this  is  no  "Camouflage."  This  thing 
actually  happened.    All  the  good  don't  die  young. 

I  have  quit  following  the  "Will-'o-the-wisp" 
of  speculative  philosophy,  and  "sich."  I  now  pay 
no  attention  at  all  to  theories.  I  must  have  facts. 
Then  on  the  facts,  each  brother  and  sister  of  the 
incomprehensible  race  called  "human"  can  oper- 
ate their  own  particular  thinker  as  the  "Sub- 
conscious" compels. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  IS 

The  various  speculations  in  the  "Unknow- 
able" remind  me  of  a  showman  in  old  England 
once.  He  introduced  his  scenes  thusly:  "Look 
to  the  right,  and  you'll  see  Daniel  in  the  Lion's 
Den.  Daniel  is  not  one  bit  afraid  of  the  Lions, 
and  the  Lions  are  not  afraid  of  Daniel."  A  youth 
in  the  crowd  called  out,  "Mister,  vich  is  Daniel, 
and  vich  is  the  lions?"  "Ah,  vich  you  please, 
you  pays  your  money,  and  you  takes  your  choice." 

But  I  must  make  another  little  extract  from 
Ireland.  From  Castlebar,  County  Mayo,  comes 
the  news  of  the  death  of  James  Conway,  a  farmer 
who  attained  the  age  of  112  years.  The  father 
of  James  Conway  did  not  die  so  young,  for  his 
years  were  six  score  and  six.  That  is  126.  The 
grandfather's  age  was  130  years.  These  statis- 
tics are  the  less  unlikely  because  in  the  same 
county  an  old  man  died  not  long  ago  who  was 
proved  to  have  attained  the  age  of  120  years. 

James  Conway  remembered  the  French  in- 
vasion, in  1798,  which  was  led  by  General  Hum- 
bert, who  won  the  battle  known  as  "the  Races  of 
Castlebar." 

Now  I  have  been  always  telling  you  that  the 
people  of  Ireland  live  long,  and  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  senile  decrepitude.  And  it's  a  fact.  But 
I  think  one  reason  is  because  the  race  is  specially 
favored  by  Providence  in  the  production  of  "the 
potato"  and  SHAMROCK.  Also,  there  is  a  com- 
mandment to  Israel  which  contains  a  promise  of 
long  life  for  obedience.  "Honor  thy  father,  and 
thy  mother,  that  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the 
land."  In  no  country  can  you  find  this  com- 
mandment in  deeper  reverence  than  in  Ireland. 

But  here  comes  the  Negro  again.  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  Nov.  10th,  1916.  "Great  is  the  excitement 
among  the  Negro  population  in  the  vicinity  of 


U  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

Wick  avenue,  for  "Mammy"  Evelina  Mosby  has 
retired  from  her  Laundry  labors,  after  a  century 
passed  at  the  tubs,  and  will,  hereafter,  devote  her 
energies  to  ironing,  and  sewing  only.  At  present 
"Mammy"  Mosby  is  only  115  years  old,  but  she 
is  adding  daily  to  her  record,  and  hopes  in  the 
course  of  time  to  reach  the  120  mark. 

Notwithstanding  her  advanced  age  Mrs.  Mosby 
is  as  "spry"  as  her  "baby"  son  Tupp  Mosby,  aged 
75,  with  whom  she  resides,  together  with  her 
daughter  and  granddaughter,  the  last  named  of 
whom  is  Mary  Warren,  who  is  maid  at  the  Union 
Depot.  Another  son,  Henry,  who  has  attained 
the  age  of  80,  is  considered  old  enough  to  shift 
for  himself,  and  is  keeping  house  with  his  wife, 
near  his  mother's  residence. 

COOKED  FOR  WASHINGTON 
Recapitulating  her  history  to  a  reporter  for 
the  News-Scimitar,  "Mammy"  Mosby  cites  the 
fact,  that  she  was  born  in  Memphis,  when  the 
town  consisted  of  only  a  couple  of  dwellings,  and 
a  number  of  Indian  Tepees,  the  only  store  in  the 
settlement  being  a  general  emporium,  kept  by 
Captain  Bell,  on  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi. 

For  years  she  lived  as  a  slave  in  the  house  of 
Nick  Perkins,  and  on  his  death,  and  the  subse- 
quent marriage  of  Mrs.  Perkins  to  Dudley  Dunn, 
she  became  a  member  of  the  Colony  of  200 
negroes  owned  by  the  Dunn  family. 

By  far,  the  most  vivid  recollection  of  the  old 
woman's  memory  is  that  she  once  enjoyed  the 
honor  of  cooking  dinner  for  Gen.  Washington, 
who  passed  through  the  "city,"  and  stopped  a  day 
at  the  Dunn  home,  where  he  is  said  to  have  been 
most  hospitably  entertained.  "And  I'll  never 
forget  him,"  says  "Mammy"  solemnly. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  15 

After  some  years  with  the  Dunn  family 
"Mammy,"  who  was  known  as  Evelina  Dunn, 
was  married  to  Billy  Mosby,  the  latter  taking  his 
patronymic  from  the  family  of  Samuel  Mosby, 
his  owner,  who  then  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  what 
is  now  Alabama  street.  In  course  of  time  twelve 
children  were  born,  but  the  number  of  grand- 
children and  great-grand-children  for  whose  ex- 
istence she  is  responsible,  is  far  beyond  the 
powers  of  her  calculation. 

LOST  COUNT  OF  THE  DESCENDANTS 

"Lord  bless  you,  chile,"  she  said,  "I  cannot 
begin  to  tell  you  the  number.  They  are  scattered 
over  Tennessee  and  Mississippi  till  I've  clean  lost 
count  ov  'em." 

Altho  her  son,  and  daughter,  and  grand- 
daughter are  all  in  good  circumstances  "Mammy" 
has  stuck  to  the  washtub,  and  has  long  been  held 
up  as  an  example  to  much  younger  women.  She 
is  also  accounted  the  champion  ironer  of  her 
colour  in  Memphis;  in  addition  to  which  she  can 
thread  a  needle  without  difficulty,  and  disdains 
the  use  of  glasses. 

"Mammy"  Mosby  will  celebrate  her  116th 
birthday  June  the  15th,  next,  when  a  great  cele- 
bration is  promised. 

It  is  related  that  at  the  death  of  a  son  some 
years  ago,  at  the  ripe  age  of  80,  "Mammy"  turned 
mournfully  to  her  husband  and  remarked :  "There, 
Bill,  I  alius  feared  we'd  never  be  able  to  raise 
that  boy." 

LIVED  106  YEARS,  DIED  IN  SLEEP 

Mount  Vernon,  Ills.,  Nov.  10th,  1916.  Have 
you  ever  heard  of  William  Greer,  familiarly 
known  to  the  people  of  Jefferson  County  as 
"Uncle  Billy?"    He  died  during  sleep  at  his  home 


16  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

near  this  city,  having  been  confined  to  his  bed 
only  about  three  days.  He  was  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  was  born  on  Nov.  24th,  1800,  and 
would  have  been  106  years  old,  had  he  lived  a 
few  days  longer. 

He  was  raised  on  a  farm  in  the  "Bluegrass 
State"  when  that  country  was  wild  and  unde- 
veloped. 

And  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he  never  tired 
of  telling  the  stories  of  pioneer  life.  He  was 
married,  of  course.  No  bachelor  can  attain  to 
Longevity.  I  will  explain  the  Psychological  and 
Physiological  reasons  why  no  "old  bachelor"  can 
live  long,  as  I  proceed. 

Mr.  Greer  resided  in  his  native  state  until 
1844,  when  he  emigrated  to  Illinois  with  his 
family,  and  settled  on  the  farm  where  he  died. 
He  was  a  successful  farmer,  but,  not  being 
obsessed  with  the  spirit  of  grab,  and  being  both 
generous  and  charitable,  and  having  his  greatest 
happiness  in  helping  others,  his  open-handed 
generosity  prevented  him  from  laying  up  much 
property. 

He  was  the  father  of  six  children,  all  of  whom 
besides  the  wife  and  mother,  died  before  he  died. 
His  married  life  was  one  of  perfect  happiness, 
the  demon  discord  never  having  paid  a  visit  to 
their  domestic  nest,  and  he  had  the  rare  privilege 
of  celebrating  with  the  wife  of  his  youth,  their 
67th  wedding  anniversary. 

But  say,  now  here's  a  screed.  He  never  used 
intoxicating  liquors!  O  Lordy,  and  he  was  a 
Kentuckian.  He  also  used  Tobacco  very  spar- 
ingly. And  to  his  freedom  from  Narcotics,  and 
to  the  fact  that  he  always  ate  and  slept  regularly, 
he  attributed  his  long  life  and  robust  health.  A 
word  is  sufficient  to  the  wise.     Go  thou  and  do 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  17 

likewise,  omitting  the  grog  and  the  tobacco.    See ! 

Now  I  am  about  to  transcribe  the  history  of 
the  man  whose  life  and  work  are  the  most  won- 
derful of  modern  history,  and  there  is  no  cam- 
ouflage about  it  either.  He  is  Captain  Diamond. 
He  has  lived  in  three  Centuries,  according  to 
A  Republic  Special,  Berkeley,  Cal.,  and  still 
likes  to  have  fun.  He  can  ride  a  bicycle,  box, 
and  peddle  books,  and  is  said  to  look  much 
younger  than  he  did  forty  years  ago.  I  quote 
from  the  Republic  Special:  Berkeley,  Cal.,  June 
15,  1917.  "There  are  old  men,  and  old  men,  but 
Captain  Goddard  E.  Diamond,  who  confesses 
coyly  to  111  years,  is  an  old  man  who  is  able  to 
do  things. 

Captain  Diamond's  friends  are  now  watch- 
ing the  Sunday-School  picnic-  calendar  to  see 
what  picnic  he  will  attend  next — for  he  went 
to  one  the  other  day,  and  had  as  much  fun  with 
the  girls  as  any  young  fellow  of  80  or  90  years 
could  have. 

"Well,  why  shouldn't  I  have  fun?"  asked 
Captain  Diamond,  and  they  had  no  answer  for 
him. 

Captain  Diamond  looks  like  a  man  of  50.  He 
has  to  ascribe  his  longevity  to  something  of 
course,  and  his  answer  is  "abstemious  living." 
For  more  than  eighty  years  he  has  eaten  no  meat, 
and  used  neither  tea,  nor  coffee.  Liquor  and 
tobacco  he  has  never  tasted  in  his  life. 

He  eats  freely  of  fish,  eggs,  cheese,  and  milk, 
but  with  these  exceptions,  his  diet  is  vegetables. 
He  avoids  white  flour,  and  his  staples  are  bread, 
and  mush  made  from  the  entire  wheat,  oat  and 
barley  meals.    He  eats  much  fruit. 

Hot  water  is  his  chief  beverage,  and  his 
dietary  fad  is  the  copious  use  of  olive  oil.    It  must 


18  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

be  real  olive  oil,  however.  He  would  rather  eat 
machine  oil  than  the  concoctions  of  cottonseed, 
peanut,  and  seasame  oils,  that  are  commonly  sold 
as  olive — or  at  least  that  were  sold  under  that 
name  before  the  passage  of  the  pure-food  law. 

AN  ACTIVE   MAN 

Captain  Diamond  is  not  merely  an  old  man; 
he  is  one  of  the  most  active  men  in  the  com- 
munity. He  practices  daily  calisthenics,  and  has 
long  served  as  a  trainer  in  that  course,  teaching 
younger  men  to  take  on  the  youthful  agility  that 
he  has  himself. 

He  is  a  skillful  bicycle  rider,  and  a  skilled 
boxer  as  well.  Not  half  the  men  of  half  his  age 
could  last  five  rounds  with  him  within  the  roped 
ring.  His  skin  is  as  clear,  his  eyes  as  bright,  and 
his  step  as  elastic  as  those  of  the  average  sound 
and  healthy  man  of  50. 

Pictures  of  him,  taken  during  the  Civil  War, 
really  look  older  than  he  does  today.  He  says, 
that  during  the  war  he  was  unable  to  regulate  his 
diet  and  his  habits  as  he  wished,  and  that  his 
health  suffered  in  consequence. 

Still,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  illness  that 
resulted  from  exposure  and  privation  while  the 
great  fire  was  raging  in  San  Francisco,  the  Cap- 
tain has  had  but  one  illness  in  87  years.  This 
was  yellow  fever  in  1852  while  he  was  in  Florida. 
His  illness,  87  years  ago  was  inflammatory  rheu- 
matism. But  this  was  evidently  a  great  blessing. 
It  was  his  difficulty  in  obtaining  relief  that  led 
to  his  adoption  of  the  vegetable  dietary  to  which 
he  has  since  adhered.  Ha!  See!  Note!  Verb. 
Sap!! 

He  had  been  treated  for  two  months  by  a 
physician  without  any  improvement.  He  dis- 
missed the  Doctor,  and  began  the  use  of  Olive  oil 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  19 

as  a  food,  and  as  an  embrocation,  and  eliminated 
meat  from  his  diet.  Two  months  later  he  was 
well,  and  rheumatism  has  never  troubled  him 
since.    Wise  Guy! 

Captain  Diamond  learned  the  trade  of  steam 
engineer  while  a  young  man.  He  was  called  a 
skilled  engineer  up  to  the  time  he  quit  the  trade, 
which  was  while  he  was  in  his  98th  year.  For 
thirteen  years  he  had  held  only  two  positions — 
seven  years  as  engineer  of  the  Occidental  Hotel 
in  San  Francisco,  and  six  years  in  the  same 
capacity  at  the  Baldwin  Hotel  in  the  same  city. 

In  all  that  time  his  most  serious  mishap  was 
one  that  compelled  him  to  shut  down  the  elevators 
in  the  Baldwin  Hotel  for  three  hours.  He  says 
he  could  go  back  to  the  trade  today  if  he  wished, 
but  since  he  quit  it  at  98  he  has  earned  his  living 
by  selling  books  and  earned  a  good  living,  too. 

He  generally  travels  on  foot,  and  handles  his- 
tories, and  encyclopaedias,  and  also  the  story  of 
his  own  life — a  book  of  130  pages,  recounting  his 
adventures,  and  describing  the  hygienic  system 
by  which  he  regulates  his  habits. 

"The  big  fire"  left  him  with  only  the  clothes 
he  wore,  and  56  cents  in  his  pockets.  But  he 
accepted  aid  from  the  relief  workers  for  only 
about  a  month,  and  then  went  out  "to  get  a  new 
start,"  as  he  said. 

Captain  Diamond's  long  life  has  held  many 
vicissitudes  and  adventures.  He  has  been  ship- 
wrecked twice,  and  he  crossed  the  plains  in  an 
emigrant  wagon.  During  the  Civil  War  he  served 
as  engineer  in  several  gunboats. 

Captain  Diamond  sees  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  live  another  Century.  He  never  felt 
better  in  his  life,  and  there  are  people  in  San 
Francisco  who   formed  his  acquaintance  thirty 


20  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

years  ago,  who  say  that  he  looks  younger  now 
than  he  did  at  that  time.  Only  recently  he  under- 
went a  medical  examination,  and  the  Physician 
closed  his  report  with  this  paragraph:  "The 
physical  examination  of  Captain  Diamond  reveals 
a  remarkable  preservation  of  tissue  integrity  and 
function  activity.  There  is  no  factor,  or  combi- 
nation of  factors,  which  would  even  remotely 
suggest  any  approach  of  dissolution,  and  if  no 
intercurrent  complication  supervenes,  it  would  be 
purely  speculative  to  hazard  an  opinion  as  to  his 
probable  future  span  of  life." 

The  Captain  was  born  at  Plymouth,  Mass., 
on  May  1st,  1796.  His  ancestry  was  a  mixture 
of  English,  Irish,  Scotch  and  Dutch.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Allen,  and  she  was  niece  of 
General  Ethan  Allen,  of  the  Revolutionary  Army. 
His  father,  Joseph  Diamond,  lived  to  be  108. 
Runs  in  the  family.  Say — something  in  heredity. 
Eh! 

Captain  Diamond  never  went  to  school,  but 
learned  to  read  after  he  had  grown  to  manhood. 
His  early  years  were  spent  on  a  farm,  and  he 
believes  his  constant  outdoor  life,  and  his  daily 
exercise,  with  plough,  scythe,  hoe  and  flail  were 
principal  factors  in  laying  the  foundation  for  his 
century  of  activity. 

He  took  part  in  the  construction  of  the  Erie 
Canal.  He  was  one  of  the  first  engineers  on  the 
Iron  Mountain  Railway  in  Missouri.  He  was 
never  married.  (Poor  fellow,  if  he  had  been 
crowned  with  the  joys  of  wedlock,  and  the  charm 
and  inspiration  of  womanhood,  he  might  have 
reached  the  full  two  centuries). 

Up  to  the  date  of  the  fire  in  San  Francisco  he 
had  many  papers  verifying  the  story  of  his  long 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  21 

life.  These  have  been  seen  by  hundreds  of  people 
who  have  no  doubt  of  their  verity,  and  who  be- 
lieve that  Captain  Diamond  has  really  lived  in 
three  Centuries. 


CHAPTER  II 
MORE   CASES  OF  LONGEVITY 

But  now  I  encounter  the  sad  duty  of  record- 
ing the  demise  of  the  really  wonderful  example 
of  human  ability,  to  hold  on  to  life  on  the  earth 
plane.  Captain  Diamond  passed  on  as  he  had 
attained  118  years  of  age.  I  quote  from  a  special 
to  the  Tribune:  "San  Francisco,  August  14. 
Capt.  Goddard  E.  Diamond,  118  years  old,  passed 
away  at  the  Crocker  Old  People's  Home,  Pine 
and  Pierce  streets,  tonight. 

Captain  Diamond  was  proud  of  the  great  age 
which  he  had  attained,  and  in  recent  years  his 
birthday  anniversaries  were  the  occasion  of  much 
rejoicing  among  his  friends  at  the  home. 

He  was  born  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  1796, 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  traditional  landing 
place  of  the  Pilgrims.  His  father  was  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  1812. 

And  now  let  me  introduce  an  old  gamekeeper, 
a  child  of  France,  who  will  tell  us  how  he  attained 
to  90  years  of  age. 

The  narrative  dates  from  Paris,  France,  Oct. 
4th,  1918. 

"France  has  the  most  remarkable  gamekeeper 
in  the  world.  His  name  is  Laroche,  and  he  lives 
near  La  Rochelle.  He  belongs  to  the  large  tribe 
of  Laroches  in  France,  from  whom  are  descended 
the  Roches  of  England  and  America.  He  is  90 
years  old,  and  is  the  senior  gamekeeper,  not  only 
in  France,  but  in  the  world. 

He  has  had  TWENTY-FIVE  children!  nine 


2U  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

of  whom  are  living.  Their  respective  ages  are, 
63,  60,  57,  55,  51,  46,  44,  40,  39.  He  also  has 
sixty  grand-children  and  forty  great-grand-chil- 
dren. 

He  has  been  gamekeeper  for  sixty  years,  and 
believes  he  is  good  for  ten  more.  He  has  lived 
his  whole  life  in  one  commune,  and  has  never 
been  out  of  it.  He  has  travelled  in  a  train  only 
once.  Altho  still  in  active  service  he  receives  a 
pension  of  $80  a  year  from  the  commune.  This 
he  gets,  not  as  a  gratuity,  but  as  a  right.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Municipal  Council.  Not  long 
ago  he  offered  his  resignation,  but  it  was  declined 
unanimously. 

Here  is  his  rule  of  life,  as  explained  by  him- 
self: 

"I  always  get  up  at  5  o'clock,  winter  and 
summer.  I  retire  at  9.  I  go  every  day  to  the 
village,  thus  walking  four,  or  five  miles. 

"I  eat  sardines,  fish,  cheese,  and  very  little 
meat.  I  put  a  great  deal  of  water  in  my  wine. 
I  never  smoke. 

"My  limbs  are  excellent;  I  have  a  good  eye; 
the  other  would  have  been  equally  good  had  not 
a  snake  squirted  its  poison  into  it  twenty  years 
ago.  The  only  time  I  have  ever  been  in  a  train, 
the  engine  driver  was  killed.  I  have  not  been  in 
one  since.  I  feel  as  energetic  as  in  my  maturity. 
I  have  a  good  head  of  hair,  but  have  lost  a  few 
teeth." 

Say!  That's  goin'  sum!  Ain't  it?  Now 
honest ! 

A  tree  lives  in  two  worlds — earth  and  air  at 
the  same  time.  Man  also  lives  in  two  worlds — 
physical  and  spiritual ;  and  the  existence  of  either 
is  impossible  without  the  combining  and  co-work- 
ing of  both. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  25 

That  which  is  evolved  we  call  "Nature."  That 
which  is  involved  we  call  God.  Are  they  not 
both  one?  Is  not  the  evolved  that  which  was 
involved,  and  are  not  both  one  ?  And  are  not  you 
yourself  a  product  of  the  process,  and  hence 
Divinely  begotten? 

Now  comes  another  Irish  topnotcher.  0  you 
can't  keep  those  Irish  in  the  ditch.  See?  "North 
Adams,  May  13,  1917.  Mrs.  Mary  O'Connel,  103 
years  old,  probably  the  oldest  woman  in  Berkshire 
county,  passed  away  at  her  home  in  Clarksburg, 
after  an  illness  of  a  few  days.  She  was  the 
widow  of  Thomas  O'Connel,  who  died  a  few  years 
ago  at  the  age  of  105  years."  Eh?  Irish,  do  ye 
see?  0  the  Irish  get  there  when  it  comes  to 
keeping  young  for  100  years  or  more.     See? 

"Mrs.  O'Connell  was  born  in  Ireland,  and 
came  to  this  country  with  her  husband  when 
North  Adams  was  but  a  village.  They  made 
their  home  in  Clarksburg  and  vicinity  for  more 
than  75  years. 

"Mrs.  O'Connell  was  particularly  alive  and 
active,  and  was  seldom  even  slightly  indisposed. 
Since  the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  O'Connell 
had  lived  alone  on  her  small  farm,  and  had  done 
all  the  farm  work  in  connection  with  it."  Eh! 
Pretty  good  for  a  young  lady  of  100. 

"During  the  spring  and  summer  seasons,  and 
as  late  as  last  fall,  Mrs.  O'Connell  walked  from 
Clarksburg  to  her  husband's  grave  in  Southview 
cemetery,  a  distance  of  more  than  three  miles. 
She  had  never  ridden  on  the  electric  cars,  nor 
could  she  be  persuaded  to  do  so.  She  never  would 
ride  to  her  husband's  grave  in  a  carriage,  altho 
her  neighbors  were  always  willing  to  allow  her 
to  have  the  use  of  a  horse  at  any  time. 

"Mrs.  O'Connell  possessed  all  her  faculties  up 


26  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

to  the  time  of  her  departure.  She  could  talk  in- 
telligently on  topics  of  history,  and  read  the 
Gaelic  language.  She  could  also  recount  many 
tales  and  legends  connected  with  the  building  of 
the  Hoosac  tunnel. 

"She  was  a  devout  member  of  St.  Francis' 
Church  and,  even  during  the  coldest  days  of  last 
winter  seldom  missed  a  Sunday  in  going  to  mass. 
She  leaves  two  sons,  John  and  Daniel  O'Connell, 
of  this  city.  She  leaves  five  grandchildren  and 
six  great-grandchildren." 

My  readers  will  observe  that  in  these  records 
of  remarkable  longevity  I  am  not  recording  ex- 
amples among  the  rich,  and  those  who  are  clothed 
in  fine  linen,  and  fare  sumptuously  every  day.  I 
am  choosing  to  reduce  to  history  the  unimportant 
peasantry  of  the  earth,  and  the  obscure.  Also, 
I  am  dealing  with  FACTS,  not  fancies.  I  have 
no  use  for  speculations,  and  the  so-called  science 
of  Metaphysics  is  absolutely  beyond  my  grasp. 

I  am  here  reminded  of  a  certain  "Nigger" 
who  expressed  himself  on  the  "Philosophies," 
thusly :  "When  I  say  tumble  over  mill-dam,  come 
down  ker-splash,  dat  am  blank-verse.  When  I 
say  tumble  over  mill-dam,  come  down  ker-slam, 
dat  am  poetry;  but  when  I  tell  you  sumfin'  dat 
I  don't  understand,  and  dat  you  don't  under- 
stand, and  dat  nobody  else  can  understand,  dat 
am  metaphysics." 

Now  here  are  two  boys  by  the  name  of  Lewis. 
They  are  brothers.  One  is  named  Frank.  He  is 
a  juvenile  of  97  years.  The  other  is  his  brother 
named  Joseph.  He  is  a  juvenile  of  94.  They 
are  two  ancient  mariners  who  are  snoozing  out 
their  peaceful  life  at  their  home  in  Oakland,  Cal. 

These  gentlemen  attribute  their  longevity  to 
the  fact  that  they  each  sleep  18  hours  a  day. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  27 

Frank  "hits  the  hay"  at  3  p.  m.,  and  arises  at 
10  a.  m.  Joseph  goes  to  bed  a  little  later,  for  he 
has  to  keep  the  school  children  out  of  his  barley- 
patch.  But  he  makes  it  up  the  next  morning, 
and  takes  his  beauty  sleep  till  noon. 

"Yes,  plenty  of  sleep  is  the  thing,"  said  Frank. 
"That,  and  not  being  pestered  with  a  wife.  The 
kid,  there,  (pointing  to  Joseph)  had  a  wife  once, 
and  I  expect  to  outlive  him  by  20  years." 

The  two  Lewis  boys  are  hale  and  hearty  after 
a  life  at  sea.  They  are  comfortably  fixed,  and 
are  getting  ahead  fast  by  saving  two  meals  a  day, 
and  fuel  and  lights. 

I  quote  these  two  as  an  illustration  of  the 
various  ways  that  lead  to  the  same  goal.  These 
centenarians  know  nothing  of  physical  exercises 
for  strength;  nothing  of  dietetics;  nothing  of 
metaphysics ;  nothing  of  "The  I  am" ;  nothing  of 
"the  great  within."  They  evidently  do  know  tho 
that  rest  is  the  great  recuperator.  And  say,  they 
are  right  by  a  great  majority. 

The  tranquil  mind  is  the  leader  in  Longevity, 
and  without  his  almighty  aid  all  other  aids  are 
the  merest  camouflage.  Hail  the  angel  of  peace, 
and  the  goddess  of  the  smile.  These  are  life's 
best  angels,  and  the  guards  of  Longevity.  But 
alas,  as  things  are  now,  the  entertainment  of 
these  two  angels  of  life  is  quite  impossible  to  the 
race.  He  must  get  to  the  condition  of  things  in 
Ireland  where  every  man  owns  his  own  little 
cottage  and  land,  and  pays  no  rent.    See? 

Now  in  contrast  with  the  men  who  attain 
longevity  by  inactivity  and  sleep,  I  introduce  a 
"percontra"  who  never  had  either  rest  or  peace. 
In  peace  he  never  would  have  been  known.  War 
saved  him  for  a  world's  admiration. 


28  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

Now  I  am  introducing  you  a  true  story  of  a 
wonderful  gentleman  whose  home  is  in  San  Diego, 
Cal.  O  he's  not  at  all  obscure.  He  is  well,  and 
widely  known.  I  am  quoting  the  public  record 
of  a  ceremony  which  the  gentleman  performs 
every  year  as  his  birthday  arrives. 

The  extract  I  give  is  now  three  years  old. 
The  gentleman  lives  now,  and  performs  the  same 
ceremony  every  year  when  the  day  of  his  birth 
arrives.  And  say,  there's  no  camouflage  about 
it  either.  The  thing  is  absolute  and  positive 
truth  without  any  doubt,  and  without  any  sus- 
picion of  fraud. 

This  is  how  the  account  appeared  in  the  local 
papers:  "Surrounded  by  a  coterie  of  friends — 
many  of  them  members  of  the  San  Diego  Rowing 
Club — 0.  J.  Stough,  one  of  San  Diego's  oldest 
citizens,  yesterday  celebrated  his  97th  anniver- 
sary by  taking  a  dip  in  the  Pacific  with  other 
members  of  the  rower's  organization,  posing  for 
the  "movie  man,"  and  entertaining  numerous 
friends  at  his  palatial  home  at  an  informal  smoker 
in  the  late  afternoon. 

The  oldest  young  man  in  this  community  arose 
yesterday  morning  at  6  o'clock,  his  usual  hour, 
partook  of  a  light  breakfast,  worked  for  a  few 
hours  in  the  beautiful  garden  surrounding  his 
home,  prepared  for  his  morning's  swim  at  the 
San  Diego  Rowing  Club's  out-of-doors  pool,  and 
at  11  o'clock  jumped  into  the  water,  with  hun- 
dreds of  friends  looking  on  in  astonishment,  for 
he  swam  like  a  man  who  never  knew  what  it  was 
to  be  on  terra  firma. 

Following  this  extraordinary  stunt,  for  it  was 
extraordinary  for  a  man  97  years  of  age  to  be 
found  swimming  around  in  the  Pacific,  "the  young 
man"  donned  his  street  attire  and  soon  was  the 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  29 

recipient  of  a  shower  of  congratulations  from  the 
many  who  know  him  to  love  him. 

After  the  Hearst-Selig  photographer  finished 
taking  moving  pictures  of  the  rowing  club  mem- 
bers in  action  in  the  water,  Mr.  Stough  posed  for 
him  long  enough  to  allow  an  excellent  picture  to 
be  made,  which,  with  the  other  moving  pictures 
of  the  swimmers,  rowers  and  divers,  will  be  sent 
to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  afternoon,  after  Mr.  Stough  had  again 
rested  by  strolling  through  his  garden,  he  wel- 
comed numerous  friends,  who  came  to  wish  him 
many  returns  of  the  day.  And  he  was  the 
YOUNGEST  MAN  among  the  many,  for,  like  a 
boy,  he  played,  and  laughed,  incidently  smoked  a 
number  of  big  black  cigars  as  a  fitting  finale  of 
a  great  day — his  97th  birthday." 

Now  here's  another  case  of  a  man  outraging 
science,  and  triumphing  over  tradition.  Science 
tells  us  that  smoking  is  suicide.  Here  is  a  boy 
of  97,  who  capsizes  the  whole  thing,  and  laughs 
at  science  while  hilariously  trampling  her  most 
profound  laws.  But  seriously  I  personally  advise 
you  not  to  follow  his  example  in  the  matter  of 
smoking.  Tobacco  evaporates  a  deadly  poison 
named  nicotine.  Don't  use  it.  Besides  it  is  a 
filthy  habit,  and  expensive  at  that.    See? 

The  domestic  quiet,  contemplative  life  is 
doubtless  conducive  to  longevity,  but  occasionally 
there  occurs  a  case  which  upsets  all  laws  of  con- 
templative quietness,  and  domesticity.  I  am  now 
about  to  introduce  you  to  Gen.  D.  E.  Sickles,  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  War.  Gen.  Sickles  was  born 
in  New  York  City,  October  20th,  1820.  He  died 
3rd  May,  1915,  at  his  home,  23  Fifth  avenue, 
New  York,  being  94  years  old.  He  had  been 
quite  ill  since  March,  when  he  suffered  a  hemor- 


30  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

rhage.  In  April  there  was  another  hemorrhage, 
and  the  General  was  confined  to  his  bed.  On  the 
morning  of  3rd  May  there  was  a  marked  im- 
provement in  his  condition,  but  at  4  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  he  began  to  sink.  Three  hours 
later  it  was  apparent  that  death  was  near.  The 
last  rites  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  had  been 
administered  on  Saturday  by  the  Rev.  Father 
Avard,  of  St.  Joseph's  Church.  He  died  at  10 
o'clock. 

Daniel  Edgar  Sickles,  Major  General  retired, 
was  the  last  of  the  great  commanders  of  the  Civil 
War.  He  responded  to  Lincoln's  first  call  for 
volunteers.  He  raised  regiment  after  regiment. 
He  led  them  into  battle,  always  with  consummate 
bravery  and  distinction.  At  the  last  he  turned 
the  tide  at  Gettysburg,  and  earned  a  soldier's 
immortality.  So  I  believe  he  is  now  very  much 
alive,  notwithstanding  the  Russellites'  creed  that 
all  souls  are  dead  till  the  coming  of  Christ  in  the 
millennium.  No,  siree,  General  Sickles  is  very 
much  alive  just  now,  and  no  doubt  enjoys  many 
happy  hours  in  the  company  of  those  with  whom 
he  once  contended  in  deadly  conflict.    See? 

Gettysburg  made  General  Sickles  famous. 
That  terrific  engagement  crowned  a  long  life  filled 
with  excitement,  adventure  and  tragedy.  From 
his  youth  up  he  was  active,  and  the  changing 
years  saw  him  engaging  with  the  same  enthu- 
siasm in  arms,  diplomacy,  politics,  and  that  inter- 
course with  his  fellows  which  is  the  privilege  of 
a  man  who  has  seen  much  of  life,  and  got  honor 
through  merit. 

(Now  what  do  you  think  of  those  Mollycoddles 
who  teach  us  that  long  life  is  dependent  on  a 
humdrum  lethargic  existence?     Eh?) 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  31 

When  the  veterans  of  Gettysburg,  both  the 
Blue  and  the  Grey,  gathered  around  peaceful 
campfires,they  acclaimed  him  as  the  hero  of  that 
engagement  decisive  of  the  whole  campaign,  and 
of  the  destiny  and  government  of  The  United 
States.  Wherever  they  met  his  name  has  run 
through  their  stories.  Of  late  years  when  his  old 
age  was  troubled,  he  always  found  relief  from 
vexation  in  meeting  former  comrades  and  talk- 
ing over  with  them  the  days  when  his  business 
was  in  columns  of  marching  men. 

He  was  a  congressman  from  New  York  when 
the  war  began.  He  was  a  Democrat,  and  had 
not  voted  for  Lincoln,  but  he  went  to  the  Pres- 
ident and  offered  his  services. 

He  saw  his  first  engagement  early  in  1862. 
He  succeeded  Hooker  in  the  command  of  a  divi- 
sion of  the  third  army  corps,  and  led  the  division 
in  the  battles  of  Antietam  and  Fredericksburg. 
In  November  of  1862  he  was  made  a  major  gen- 
eral of  volunteers,  and  had  command  of  the  third 
corps  of  Chancellorsville,  when  General  Lee  set 
forth  on  his  determined  march  to  the  North. 
General  Meade  had  succeeded  Hooker,  and  Gen- 
eral Sickles'  corps  was  ordered  to  Emmetsburg. 
After  the  first  day's  fighting  at  Gettysburg,  Gen- 
eral Howard  called  for  help. 

The  second  day  found  General  Sickles  in  com- 
mand of  the  Union  left.  An  hour  before  the 
battle  began,  and  without  waiting  for  orders, 
Sickles  took  a  position  on  peach  orchard  ridge. 

They  called  that  portion  of  the  battlefield  the 
bloody  angle.  The  fight  there  lasted  from  3 
o'clock  till  7  at  night.  Many  men  perished  there, 
more  than  in  the  other  two  days  of  the  battle. 
Half  an  hour  before  the  fight  ended  a  shell  shat- 
tered General  Sickles'  knee.    He  buckled  a  strap 


32  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

round  his  leg  and  staid  on  his  horse  until  the  last 
gun  was  fired.    His  leg  was  amputated  that  night. 

After  he  had  recovered  from  his  wound,  Lin- 
coln sent  him  on  an  inspection  trip  through  the 
South,  and  he  was  with  Sherman's  army  on  the 
march  to  the  sea.  After  the  war  he  was  military- 
governor  of  the  department  of  the  South,  which 
included  the  two  Carolinas. 

I  have  been  particular  in  giving  you  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  life  of  General  Sickles.  Why? 
Because  his  life  upsets  all  the  philosophy,  which 
the  Savants  of  earth  have  given  us,  as  the  laws 
of  health  and  longevity.  Hygiene  was  absolutely 
impossible  in  war.  The  whole  mentality  was 
engaged  in  conceiving  destruction  and  murder. 
Hatred  was  the  ruling  passion,  and  the  slaughter 
of  his  fellowman  controlled  all  his  emotions.  Yet 
he  lived  in  the  body  94  years ! 

But  I  suppose  we  must  leave  its  solution  to 
the  universal  dictum  that  "there  are  exceptions 
to  all  rules."  Nevertheless,  I  believe  there  are 
certain  hygienic  laws  which  very  materially  aid 
in  health  and  longevity,  notwithstanding  an  oc- 
casional unaccountable  contradiction. 

There  are  Philosophers  who  tell  us  that  a 
mysterious  something  which  they  call  "vitality," 
takes  up  its  mysterious  residence  in  the  brain  at 
birth.  This  mysterious  activity  controls  and 
manages  the  life,  and  determines  the  longevity 
of  the  person  in  whose  skull  it  locates  itself.  That 
the  individual  wearing  the  skull  cannot  by  any 
means,  either  increase,  or  diminish  the  mysterious 
governor;  that  he  will  work  till  he  finishes  you 
up :  and  you  can  by  no  means  influence  his  oper- 
ations.   See  ? 

Here  is  an  opportune  time  for  me  to  get  in 
a  little  "fact"  on  tobacco.    I  have  long  since  quit 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  33 

dreaming  in  philosophies.  The  wise,  and  scien- 
tific men  have  had  their  day  in  fooling  me.  Now 
I  am  a  disciple  of  facts.  Now  here's  a  little  fact 
by  a  gentleman,  who  smoked  for  25  years,  and 
then  quit.  Here  is  what  he  says  to  the  editor 
of  The  Tribune:  "Editor,  The  Tribune.  In  1838, 
when  only  seven  years  old,  I  formed  the  obnoxious 
tobacco  habit.  During  the  succeeding  twenty-five 
years  I  made  a  nuisance  of  myself  to  the  public, 
with  which  I  was  obliged  to  come  in  contact. 

At  the  age  of  32  I  cut  loose  from  the  tobacco 
habit,  and  during  the  past  fifty-two  years  have 
had  ample  time  to  see  the  absolute  nothingness 
to  be  derived  from  tainting  the  blood  with  nico- 
tine; also  the  total  cost  of  the  tobacco  used. 

During  the  twenty-five  years  I  was  an  abject 
slave  of  the  tobacco  habit,  it  cost  me  on  an  aver- 
age of  25  cents  per  day,  $6  per  month,  or  $72 
per  year. 

For  twenty-five  years  the  cost  was  $1800.  So 
that  in  the  last  fifty-two  years  I  have  saved  $3740, 
and  have  not  disgusted  anyone  by  smoking  or 
chewing,  nor  have  I  robbed  my  system.  In  this 
I  take  a  pardonable  pride."    R.  A.  W.   Riverside. 

Pretty  spry  fellow  this  at  84.  Eh?  Isn't  he 
now,  honest?  This  is  the  most  powerful  argu- 
ment against  the  use  of  tobacco  that  I  have  ever 
met.  The  party  who  can  resist  the  power  of  the 
appeal  couched  in  this  testimony  may  be  given 
over  to  his  own  innate  stupidity.  Time  were  lost 
reasoning  with  him.  Let  him  be  given  over  to 
salt. 

Now  here  is  another  record  of  tolerably  vig- 
orous life  at  the  age  of  106.  The  fact  is  con- 
veyed by  leased  wire  to  "The  Examiner" 

PIKEVILLE,  Ky.,  Aug.  — .  Aunt  Cosy 
Hopkins,  106  years  old,  and  perhaps  the  oldest 


BU  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

woman  in  Kentucky,  was  admitted  as  a  member 
of  the  Free  Will  Baptist  Church,  and  baptized 
by  immersion  in  the  Big  Sandy  River,  by  Rev. 
N.  T.  Hopkins.  The  aged  woman  lives  on  Her- 
ald's Branch,  a  tributary  to  the  Sandy  River; 
and  a  place  in  the  river  near  the  mouth  of  this 
creek,  was  chosen  for  the  baptismal  ceremony  on 
account  of  her  advanced  age. 

So  there  now,  at  a  century,  and  over,  spiritual 
birth  can  occur,  and  the  physical  adjuncts  there- 
to, can  be  performed.  God  in  his  word  to  us  tells 
us  concerning  the  righteous  man  "With  long  life 
will  I  satisfy  him,  and  show  him  my  salvation." 

Now  here  is  another  record  of  a  centenarian, 
and  no  camouflage  either.  And  say,  she  is  just 
one  of  the  ordinary  common  people.  She  did  no 
stunts  of  any  kind  to  help  her  live  long. 

She  neither  practiced  deep  breathing,  nor  per- 
formed genuflexions,  nor  muscle  stretching,  nor 
body  bending,  nor  any  particular  kind  of  eating, 
neither  fasting,  nor  eating  uncooked  food.  But 
she  just  lived,  an*  lived  an'  lived.  Neither  did 
she  take  any  particular  style  of  food.  She  just 
lived  like  a  plain,  ordinary  female  according  to 
the  class  in  which  she  was  born,  and  lived.  Her 
name  was  Mrs.  Rethea  Porter.  She  was  born  in 
slave  days,  and  lived  in  the  same  house  for  twen- 
ty-two years.    She  died  at  the  age  of  112. 

She  was  born  in  Louisiana  in  the  old  slave 
days,  and  won  her  freedom  by  the  result  of  the 
Civil  War.  She  came  to  Los  Angeles  twenty-two 
years  before  her  death,  and  lived  all  that  time 
at  485  Mountain  View  avenue,  where  she  died. 

Mrs.  Porter  reared  eight  children,  had  nine 
grandchildren,  and  ten  great-grandchildren,  to 
whom  she  often  sang  the  old  ante-bellum  songs 
"befo'  the  war."     She  was  a  prominent  member 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  35 

of  the  Second  Baptist  Church,  at  Pico  and  Paloma 
streets,  and  for  ten  years  never  missed  a  service 
at  Church.  Likely  the  normal  life  which  accom- 
panies church  fellowship  had  quite  an  influence 
on  the  longevity  of  this  remarkable  female.    See? 

Now  comes  for  consideration  a  gentleman  who 
on  the  celebration  of  his  90th  birthday  gives  us 
some  good  advice,  as  to  how  to  keep  young.  The 
gentleman's  name  is  Cyrus  Mason  Parsons;  he 
is  called  "the  grand  old  man  of  Claremont,  Cal." 
Over  a  dozen  grandchildren,  and  several  great- 
grandchildren assembled  to  pay  homage  to  the 
reverend  head  of  the  family. 

Mr.  Parsons,  who  was  a  pioneer  settler  of 
Iowa,  and  who  was  prominent  in  many  ways, 
both  there  where  he  founded  the  town  of  Big 
Rock,  twenty-five  miles  from  Davenport,  and  in 
Claremont,  where  he  has  lived  for  a  number  of 
years,  said  last  night  that  he  never  felt  younger. 
Ha,  there's  it.  Don't  think  yourself  old.  See? 
Don't  let  the  idea  of  old  age  get  a  grip  on  you. 
See? 

His  remarkably  good  health,  and  clear  mind, 
he  attributes  to  several  things:  First,  that  he 
is  given  to  taking  long  walks.  Say,  he's  a  wise 
guy.  Eh?  Secondly,  that  he  is  an  inveterate 
reader,  from  which  practice  he  has  derived  much 
pleasure  and  profit.  Thirdly,  that  he  has  so  many 
smiling  young  faces  about  him.  Say,  the  old 
man  is  right  here.  The  smile  is  the  real  secret 
of  achievement,  and  the  invariable  accompani- 
ment of  success  in  all  directions.  But  let  it  be 
real  smiles;  the  veritable  outflow  of  a  generous 
and  pure  soul.  For  the  smile  can  be  trans- 
mogrified ;  but  not  the  real  genuine  smile.  A  man 
can  "Smile  an'  smile,  and  be  a  villian."  But  the 
real  smile  cannot  be  imitated.    The  smiling  face 


36  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

is  the  index  of  the  true  heart,  and  like  pure  gold 
cannot  be  counterfeited.    See? 

Mr.  Parsons  has  four  sons  living,  fourteen 
grandchildren,  and  five  great-grandchildren. 

Now  here  comes  another  really,  truly  cen- 
tenarian, and  no  mistake  about  it  either.  A  cor- 
respondent of  "The  Vienna  Zet  declares  that 
while  passing  through  Volhynia,  he  discovered  a 
peasant  who  had  lately  celebrated  his  113th  birth- 
day. The  peasant  distinctly  remembered  seeing 
Napoleon  at  the  head  of  his  army  on  the  march 
to  Moscow.  The  man  appeared  to  be  in  excellent 
health.  Now  there's  one  for  you.  A  peasant 
aged  113  and  in  excellent  health!  Please  don't 
regard  what  we  call  old  age  as  associated  with 
imbecility.  Regard  it  as  a  ripening  for  the  next 
step  higher  in  the  evolution  of  man,  whose  life 
is  infinite,  and  development  eternal.  But  say,  I 
don't  know  a  thing  about  eternity,  and  have  no 
apparatus  attached  to  my  thinker  in  this  incar- 
nation, by  which  I  am  able  consciously  to  realize 
it.  See?  But  without  apprehending,  and  with- 
out understanding,  I  can  trust  the  word  of  my 
Father.    See? 

Now  I  am  quoting  from  the  Examiner  of 
Los  Angeles,  of  Friday  3rd,  June,  1917:  "Six 
special  guests  sat  near  the  head  of  the  table  yes- 
terday when  Dr.  P.  C.  Prugh  of  San  Gabriel, 
gave  a  dinner  to  celebrate  his  94th  birthday,  and 
the  combined  ages  of  these  guests  and  the  host 
was  663. 

"They  were  all  members  of  the  Centenarian 
Club,  and  yesterday's  birthday  party  will  be  fol- 
lowed by  another  at  the  home  of  S.  H.  Taft,  the 
veteran  editor  of  "The  Bay  District  Investigator," 
at  Sawtelle,  today. 
'   "The  members  of  the  club  present  at  yester- 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  27 

day's  meeting  were,  Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles,  95 ;  Spurges 
Selleck,  94;  Senator  Cornelius  Cole,  96;  A.  A. 
Annis,  96;  Dr.  A.  M.  Morrison,  97;  S.  H.  Taft, 
91,  and  Dr.  P.  C.  Prugh,  94." 

Say,  that's  a  pretty  good  record,  and  there  is 
no  camouflage  about  it  either.  I  was  of  the  party. 
That  party  was  three  years  ago.  Some  of  them 
have  gone  up  higher  since.  There  was  Taft,  the 
active  organizer  of  the  Club,  about  a  couple  of 
years  after  this,  who  climbed  up  a  tree  armed 
with  a  saw  to  lopp  off  a  branch.  Say,  there's  not 
much  sign  of  senile  imbecility  in  a  man  who  can 
make  his  way  up  a  tree  by  climbing  a  la  squirrel. 
But  Brother  Taft  missed  his  grip  somehow,  and 
fell  to  the  ground,  so  injuring  himself  that  re- 
covery was  impossible,  and  so  he  went  up  higher. 
No  doubt  whatever  but  from  the  surrounding  in- 
visible he  meets  with  us  as  usual.  I  know  that 
I  have  seen  him  myself.  I  also  aided  in  the 
services  of  his  burial,  and  very  distinctly  recog- 
nized him  among  the  "Heavenly  Host"  who  were 
present  on  that  occasion.  Because  we  are  never 
alone.  A  "great  cloud  of  witnesses"  is  always  in 
attendance.  At  least  Paul  says  so  in  the  12th 
Chapter  of  Hebrews.  And  say,  I  believe  Paul. 
Since  then  the  Club  has  lost  Selleck,  Annis  and 
Prugh.  It  is  still  represented  tho  by  the  follow- 
ing good  men  and  true,  and  quite  a  bevy  of  women, 
God  bless  them,  who  are  the  very  life  and  soul 
of  our  Club.  These  are  the  names  and  ages  of 
the  ladies  of  our  Club,  without  whose  motherly 
presence  and  aid,  I  question  much  if  we  could 
have  a  Club  at  all.  The  Club  meets  once  monthly. 
We  discuss  important  questions  of  the  day,  and 
give  out  our  wisdom  to  aid  the  progress  of  the 
world.  Our  very  efficient  Secretary  is  Mrs.  E.  F. 
Witter,  without  whose  wise  and  efficient  guidance 


38  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

we  could  not  exist.  See?  0  say,  God  did  a  great 
thing  for  man  when  he  created  woman.  Scot- 
land's greatest  poet,  the  immortal  Burns,  ex- 
presses it  thusly:  "His  prentice  hand  he  tried 
on  man :  but  then  he  made  the  lasses  0." 

And  now  I  have  the  proud  privilege  of  pre- 
senting to  your  admiration  one  of  my  own  illus- 
trious name.  He  is  Peter  S.  Morrison.  At  the 
juvenile  age  of  101  he  quits  tobacco,  as  he  intends 
to  live  99  more  years.    This  is  the  record : 

After  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century's 
indulgence  in  tobacco  in  various  forms,  "Daddy" 
Morrison  has  foresworn  allegiance  to  My  Lady 
Nicotine,  because  he  wants  to  celebrate  his  two 
hundredth  birthday. 

"Daddy  is  known  on  the  books  of  the  Pisgah 
Home,  6026  Echo  street,  Los  Angeles,  as  Peter 
S.  Morrison.  He  is  101  years  old,  but  he  looks 
more  like  70,  and  says  he  feels  like  50.  To  bear 
out  the  illusion  that  he  is  only  half  way  to  the 
century  mark,  'Daddy'  engages  in  various  forms 
of  manual  labor.  He  spends  part  of  the  day 
working  in  the  garden,  washes  and  mends  his 
clothing,  takes  a  hand  at  dishwashing,  and  makes 
himself  generally  useful  round  the  house. 

"I  have  just  learned  conclusively  that  tobacco 
is  bad,"  said  "Daddy"  yesterday.  "Since  I  swore 
off,  my  wind  is  better,  and  my  work  does  not  tire 
me.  I  smoked  and  chewed  tobacco  for  a  good 
many  years,  and  I  felt  the  loss  of  it  when  I  quit. 
But  I  am  getting  used  to  it  now,  and  feel  so 
much  better  that  I  don't  intend  to  start  again. 
It  took  me  a  long  time  to  find  out  that  it  is  harm- 
ful to  the  young.  I  want  to  live  to  be  an  old  man, 
you  know,"  he  added  with  a  wink. 

Morrison  came  to  Los  Angeles  from  New 
York  State,  and  likes  California  so  well  that  he 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  39 

expects  to  remain  here  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
which  he  fully  expects  to  continue  at  least  until 
he  has  passed  all  old  age  limits  known  to  science. 

Just  a  remark  here  between  the  lines.  Poor 
Morrison  was  poor,  very  poor  in  this  world  of 
abounding  plenty.  Had  it  not  been  for  that  man 
of  wondrous  faith  in  Christ,  the  late  lamented 
Dr.  Yoakum,  Morrison  would  have  found  it  a 
rather  tough  job  to  round  out  the  second  cen- 
tury in  Los  Angeles,  or  anywhere  else  in  this 
great  country  of  limitless  riches.     See? 

Now  I  have  another  wonder  to  present,  in 
the  case  of  an  Irish  woman.  I  am  quoting  from 
The  London  Bureau  of  the  Post  Despatch  of  1917. 
"Irish  woman,  118  years  old,  recalled  incidents 
of  Rebellion  of  1798.  Spent  a  laborious  life,  and 
was  never  attended  by  a  Doctor  until  her  last 
illness."  Say,  my  friends,  there  is  no  question 
in  my  mind  but  this  is  the  secret  of  her  won- 
derful longevity.  Now  for  the  record.  "London, 
January  21st.  Mrs.  Catherine  Leonard  died  a 
few  days  ago,  near  Cappamore,  County  Limerick, 
at  the  age  of  118.    She  was  born  in  1790. 

She  had  a  faint  recollection  of  the  Irish  re- 
bellion of  '98,  in  which  some  of  her  relatives  lost 
their  lives.  Her  father's  house  was  burned  by 
the  Yeomanry,  and  the  family  had  a  narrow 
escape. 

She  often  told  about  Daniel  O'Connell  and  his 
eloquence.  Well,  she  had  a  very  ample  theme, 
for  say,  O'Connell  was  eloquent.  He  was  Irish, 
you  see;  a  people  in  whom  oratory  in  its  most 
exalted  spirit  is  indigenous. 

Mrs.  Leonard  married  when  she  was  17  years 
old,  and  raised  fourteen  children,  most  of  whom 
migrated  to  Australia  or  America.  Ya,  at  that 
time  there  was  no  home  in  Ireland  for  the  Irish 


40  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

peasant.  I  know,  for  I  was  one  of  them  myself. 
See?  It  is  stated  that  Mrs.  Leonard  had  twenty- 
two  grandchildren,  and  forty-seven  great-grand- 
children. 

She  had  a  vivid  recollection  of  the  repeal 
movement,  and  almost  starved  to  death  during 
the  tithe  war. 

Two  sons  were  killed  in  the  American  Civil 
War,  one  fighting  on  the  side  of  the  North,  and 
one  on  the  side  of  the  South.  Say,  no  wonder 
General  Sherman,  another  brilliant  Irishman, 
said,  "War  is  Hell." 

Mrs.  Leonard  spent  a  laborious  life,  and  never 
was  attended  by  a  Doctor  until  her  last  illness. 
I  suspect  her  long  life  may  be  partly  explained 
by  this.  The  Doctor's  attendance  would  most 
certainly  have  helped  her  very  materially  to  get 
home  at  a  considerably  earlier  period.  She  de- 
clined to  apply  for  an  old  age  pension,  saying  it 
was  not  worth  while.  Now  there's  the  Irish 
again,  do  you  see,  my  friends? 

One  of  her  sons  lived  to  be  96;  another  was 
80  years  old  when  he  died,  and  two  daughters 
were  78  and  73,  respectively. 

One  of  her  daughters,  who  is  still  living  at 
this  date,  is  96  years  old,  and  a  grandson  is  61 
years  old.  Say,  you  can't  beat  the  Irish.  Now 
what  d'ye  think  of  Dr.  Osier  and  his  chloroform 
at  60,  Eh? 

Now  I  have  another  quotation  from  the  same 
sources  as  the  above. 

London's  oldest  platform  speaker  addressed  an 
audience  at  the  Salvation  Army's  Barracks  in 
Mayes  Road  Wood  Green,  when  a  dinner  was 
given  to  the  old  people  of  the  district. 

She  was  Mrs.  Clark,  and  in  spite  of  her  104 
years  she  was  as  sprightly  as  the  youngest  there, 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  41 

altho  she  might  easily  have  been  the  mother  of 
the  oldest  among  them. 

Her  years  sit  lightly  on  her,  and  she  ate  a 
hearty  dinner  of  roast  beef  and  plum  pudding, 
and  was  the  life  and  soul  of  the  table,  whose 
head  she  graced. 

Her  sight  and  hearing  are  unimpaired — she 
never  wears  spectacles — and  her  ears  are  quick 
to  catch  any  remark,  particularly  if  it  be  about 
herself.  And  she  has  a  lively  faculty  for  shrewd 
repartee. 

The  old  lady's  speech  was  the  feature  of  the 
evening.  The  quavering  old  voice  was  hard  to 
hear  at  first:  and  once  the  old  memory  played 
its  owner  false. 

But  a  platform  speaker  of  104  is  a  person 
to  whom  all  may  be  forgiven,  and  not  a  sound 
was  heard  as  she  told  her  audience  how  pleased 
she  was  to  see  them  there,  and,  becoming  rem- 
iniscent, how  she  had  given  all  her  children  a 
good  schooling,  and  taught  them  to  shun  strong 
drink.  "I  gave  'em  water,"  said  the  ancient  dame 
succinctly,  and  was  cheered  to  the  echo. 

Say,  think  of  it;  104  years  old,  and  an  orator 
using  no  spectacles,  nor  ear  trumpets!  Eating 
roast  beef  and  plum  puddin',  but  drinking  water, 
cold  water.  See?  No  question  the  teetotalism, 
and  the  general  jolliness  and  sweetness  of  dispo- 
sition were  very  great  aids  in  arriving  at  the 
104th  milestone.  If  you  would  live  long,  be 
sweet,  and  again  I  say,  be  sweet.  Nothing  poi- 
sons life  at  its  very  fountain  equal  to  a  disposi- 
tion to  find  fault,  and  be  antagonistic  to  every- 
thing, and  to  be  continually  criticising  your 
friends,  neighbors,  and  the  world  generally.  Say, 
keep  sweet.  Be  sweet.  Be  sweet,  dear  girl,  and 
let  who  will  be  clever. 


CHAPTER  III 

GENERAL  PRINCIPLES  OF  LONGEVITY 

Now  it  is  my  privilege  to  introduce  a  young 
lady  of  90.  I  do  this  the  more  joyously  and  con- 
fidently as  I  happen  to  have  the  honor  to  know 
the  lady  personally.  She  is  Mrs.  M.  A.  Pierce, 
who  celebrated  her  90th  birthday  anniversary  on 
Jan.  2,  1917.  She  is  the  oldest  member  of  the 
Wednesday  Morning  Club,  having  been  elected  to 
honorary  membership  in  that  organization.  For 
a  number  of  years  she  has  maintained  a  live 
interest  in  the  activities  of  the  club,  graduating 
when  in  her  82nd  year,  from  the  Shakespeare 
section  with  high  honors. 

During  her  earlier  life  Mrs.  Pierce  developed 
an  interest  in  questions  of  public  welfare,  which 
has  never  waned,  and  this,  together  with  her  in- 
tellectual research,  has  kept  her  mind  young  and 
vigorous.  See?  Now  mark  this  well.  One  of 
the  secrets  of  long  efficient  life  lies  couched  right 
here.  "She  developed  an  interest  in  questions  of 
public  welfare."  Now  don't  forget  this  if  you 
wish  for  a  vigorous  long  life. 

Until  fourteen  years  ago  she  was  a  resident 
of  Springfield,  Mass.,  the  scene  of  her  many 
worthy  endeavors;  and  among  the  pioneers  of 
that  place  she  has  many  warm  friends.  Again 
I  say  unto  you,  "Be  sweet,"  Get  friends,  get  them, 
get  them.  They  will  be  health  to  thy  soul,  and 
renewal  to  thy  body. 


U  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

For  years  Mrs.  Pierce  has  made  her  home 
with  her  son  and  daughter-in-law,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
C.  C.  Pierce. 

I  now  quote  from  the  Examiner  of  Sept.  18, 
1916:  "Cornelius  Cole  gives  party.  Ages  of 
host  and  guests,  1516  years.  Former  U.  S.  Sen- 
ator is  host  to  Octogenarian  and  Centenarian 
Clubs  on  Birthday. 

"Hale,  happy,  hearty,  and  looking  fully  thirty 
years  younger  than  his  family  Bible  says  he  is, 
Cornelius  Cole,  formerly  bond  representative  and 
United  States  Senator  from  California,  celebrated 
the  94th  anniversary  of  his  birth  with  a  dinner 
party  to  fellow  members  of  the  Octogenarian  and 
Centenarian  Clubs. 

"It  was  indeed  a  merry  affair,  and  a  youthful 
one,  too,  despite  the  fact  that  the  combined  ages 
of  Senator  Cole  and  the  sixteen  of  his  oldest 
guests  made  up  the  great  sum  of  1516  years. 

"These  guests  of  Senator  Cole  were :  Captain 
L.  A.  Ross,  81  years  old;  Dr.  Marshall  F.  Price, 
82 ;  P.  E.  Brown,  81 ;  Dr.  F.  H.  Moore,  85 ;  Rev. 
S.  H.  Taft,  91 ;  Sturges  Selleck,  president  of  both 
the  clubs,  94 ;  J.  P.  Garlick,  92 ;  Dr.  A.  M.  Sher- 
man, 90 ;  Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles,  95 ;  Gen.  J.  S.  Wilcox, 
84;  Dr.  L.  W.  Beck,  85;  Rev.  P.  C.  Prugh,  94; 
M.  L.  Rogers,  88;  A.  A.  Annis,  96;  Dr.  A.  M. 
Morrison,  96,  and  Dr.  H.  L.  Canfield,  88. 

"In  addition  to  these  octogenarians  and  nona- 
genarians, the  wives  of  many  were  present,  while 
among  the  other  guests  was  the  widow  of  the 
late  Judge  Alexander  Campbell,  who  was  one  of 
the  few  men  living  in  recent  years  who  attended 
Senator  Cole's  wedding  in  San  Francisco  on  Jan. 
6th,  1853,  to  Miss  Olive  Colegrove. 

"Senator  and  Mrs.  Cole,  who  is  83  years  old, 
have  had  nine  children,  seven  of  whom  are  still 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  45 

living,  many  of  them  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  their  parents'  residence  at  6121  Lexington 
avenue,  where  yesterday's  celebration  was  held. 
With  one  exception  all  of  the  living  children,  as 
well  as  a  number  of  grandchildren  and  two  great- 
grandchildren, were  present. 

"Descendants  and  relatives  of  the  couple, 
most  of  whom  were  present  yesterday,  include 
Mrs.  Emma  Cole  Brown,  a  daughter:  her  chil- 
dren, Cornelius  Cole  Brown,  and  Mrs.  Marjorie 
Brown  Mather,  and  the  latter's  two  children, 
Bibi  and  John  Mather;  Seward  Cole,  a  son,  and 
his  three  children,  Eleanor,  Cornelius  B.  and 
Seward  Edward  Cole.  Mrs.  Willoughby  Cole, 
widow  of  their  son,  Willoughby,  and  her  son, 
Willoughby  Cole;  Mrs.  Lucretia  Cole  Waring,  a 
daughter,  and  her  daughter,  Olive  Waring;  Mrs. 
James  G.  McLaughlin,  of  New  York,  a  daughter 
who  has  three  children,  Comerford,  Cornelia  and 
Gregory  McLaughlin,  while  the  latter  also  has 
two  children,  Schyler  Cole,  a  son;  Mrs.  Reginald 
H.  Jones,  a  daughter,  and  two  children,  Sarton 
and  Rhoda  Jones;  and  George  T.  Cole.  All  ex- 
cept Mrs.  McLaughlin  and  her  children  and 
grandchildren  were  present. 

"Many  were  the  pleasant  reminiscences  ex- 
changed among  Senator  Cole  and  his  elderly 
guests,  before  whom  an  elaborate  repast  was 
spread,  but  the  Senator  himself  was  rather  re- 
luctant to  take  any  time  from  listening  to  others 
about  himself.  He  was  cornered  long  enough  to 
obtain  a  brief  biography.  He  was  born  in  Lodi, 
Seneca  County,  N.  Y.,  Sept.  17th,  1822.  He 
graduated  from  the  Wesleyan  University  in  Mid- 
dleton,  Conn.,  in  1848,  and  on  May  1st  of  the 
same  year,  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of 
law.    He  crossed  the  plains  to  California  in  1849. 


W  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

In  1862  he  was  elected  to  the  38th  Congress.  He 
was  at  Lincoln's  side  when  the  famous  Gettys- 
burg speech  was  delivered.  In  1866  he  was 
elected  United  States  Senator. 

"Senator  Cole,  and  former  United  States  Sen- 
ator George  F.  Edmunds,  of  Vermont,  now  living 
in  Pasadena,  are  the  only  living  members  of  the 
Congressional  court,  which  heard  the  impeach- 
ment trial  of  President  Andrew  Johnson. 

"In  1861  he  came  to  Southern  California,  set- 
tling at  Colegrove,  now  a  part  of  Los  Angeles 
and  which  was  named  by  his  children  after  their 
mother's  maiden  name. 

"The  Senator  gives  nothing  in  particular 
credit  for  his  long  life.  Thank  heaven  he  is  no 
faddist.  He  does  nothing  to  excess  which  is 
perhaps  the  real  secret.  He  has  no  plans  for 
the  coming  year,  except  to  keep  on  attending  to 
business  every  day  as  has  been  his  custom. 

Now  I  quote  from  Dr.  S.  J.  Crumbine,  Secre- 
tary of  Kansas  State  Board  of  Health:  "Our 
great-grandchildren  will  live  to  be  150  years  old. 
There  is  even  a  chance  for  our  children,  and 
their  offspring.  Dying  at  from  50  to  70  years  will 
be  looked  upon  as  an  ancient  and  tragic  custom 
by  people  of  the  21st  Century.  A  man  at  100 
then  is  going  to  be  just  as  active  in  business  as 
the  person  of  50  or  60  today.  On  attaining  that 
age  he  can  retire  and  spend  half  a  century  in 
the  pursuit  of  quiet  happiness,  before  friends  and 
relatives  will  follow  his  earthly  remains  to  the 
cemetery. 

The  trick  is  to  have  all  parts  of  the  human 
body  to  wear  out  at  once,  just  like  the  famous 
one-horse  shay,  which  with  each  part  as  good  as 
every  other  part  did  not  collapse  until  all  wore 
out  simultaneously. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  U7 

It  was  the  oft-declared  opinion  of  the  great 
Metchnikoff  that  we  should  live  up  to  140  years, 
barring  accidents  and  disease.  The  human  body, 
being  a  perfect  machine,  should  decay  in  its  en- 
tirety at  once.  All  parts  were  built  to  continue 
their  functions  till  the  whole  machine  had  worn 
out. 

THE  CENTENARIAN  WILL  BE  COMMON 

By  the  thorough  adoption  of  known  and  prac- 
tical reforms  human  life  in  America  can  be 
lengthened  more  than  a  third.  The  centenarian 
won't  get  his  picture  in  the  newspapers  within 
a  few  decades.    He'll  be  too  common. 

Disease  and  poverty  bear  a  very  strong  rela- 
tion to  each  other.  Ten  per  cent  increase  in  the 
wage  of  the  workingman  usually  means  a  10 
per  cent  decrease  in  sickness. 

In  an  address  before  the  Association  of  Life 
Insurance  Presidents,  Prof.  Irving  Fisher,  of 
Yale  University,  said:  "Human  life  is  long  or 
short  precisely  according  to  the  hygienic  condi- 
tions under  which  it  is  lived."  He  gave  data 
showing  that  human  life  in  America  could,  by 
the  adoption  of  hygenic  reforms,  be  lengthened 
over  one-third. 

I  believe  Metchnikoff  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  one  out  of  every  2500  of  the  Bul- 
garian mountain  people  live  to  an  age  of  100  and 
over.  The  centenarian  in  the  Bulgarian  moun- 
tain district  is  evidently  as  numerous  as  the  75 
and  80-year-olds  in  this  country.    Eh? 

Prof.  Lorand,  of  Carlsbad,  declares  that  any- 
one who  is  the  offspring  of  healthy  parents  has 
it  in  his  power  to  live  to  the  age  of  100,  if  he  is 
temperate  in  eating,  and  especially  in  drinking. 
He  will  have  the  best  prospects  for  this  result  if 
he  is  careful  that  all  food  which  he  eats  is  per- 


48  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

fectly  fresh,  and  contains  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  unaltered  curative  substances.  The 
food  must  also  taste  good. 

It  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose,  in  view  of 
the  above  facts,  that  a  century  hence  it  will  not 
be  more  uncommon  to  see  people  who  are  100 
years  of  age  and  over,  aye  150,  than  it  is  now  to 
meet  70  and  80-year-olds.    See? 

I  now  present  a  very  remarkable  instance  of 
longevity  in  a  lady  who  died  at  the  advanced  age 
of  107  in  Los  Angeles.  Her  name  is  Mrs.  Juana 
de  Rubio.  She  died  at  the  residence  of  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Lucy  Forbes,  West  59th  Place. 
She  lacked  but  six  years  of  seeing  her  hundredth 
wedding  anniversary,  having  been  married  at 
the  age  of  13. 

Mrs.  Rubio  was  the  mother  of  twenty-five  chil- 
dren. Evidently  fruitfulness  in  the  production 
of  offspring  is  no  hindranec  to  health  and  length 
of  days.  A  large  number  of  her  children  fell 
victims  to  an  epidemic  of  smallpox  in  the  early 
days  of  Los  Angeles.  Those  surviving  are,  Mrs. 
Forbes,  Mrs.  Frances  Berry,  of  908  Irolo  street; 
Mrs.  Ed  Butler,  of  El  Monte ;  Mrs.  F.  N.  Staples, 
and  David  Rubio. 

I  am  careful  in  presenting  these  names  of  her 
children  lest  some  unbeliever  should  accuse  me 
of  camouflage.  It  has  been  printed  on  scientific 
authority  that  no  human  ever  did,  or  can  reach 
100  years  of  life  on  earth.  And  I  have  been 
called  a  liar  myself.  See  ?  And  yet  I  didn't  knock 
the  gentleman  down.  So  I  hope  you  will  recog- 
nize me  as  a  fully  sanctified  Christian. 

Mrs.  Rubio  was  active  in  mind  and  body  until 
within  a  month  of  her  death.  Her  eyesight  had 
failed,  but  otherwise  her  faculties  were  unusually 
keen,   and  she  had  a  remarkable  memory  that 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  U9 

covered  nearly  a  century  of  Los  Angeles  history. 

Mrs.  Rubio  was  born  in  San  Diego,  and  lived 
there  until  her  marriage.  She  came  to  Los 
Angeles  when  it  was  hardly  a  village.  The  Rubio 
family  was  one  of  the  oldest  Spanish  families  in 
Southern  California,  and  originally  its  members 
owned  thousands  of  acres  of  now  valuable  lands. 

This  is  a  remarkable  case  illustrating  the  pos- 
sibilities of  natural  living,  and  the  possible  length 
of  life  to  man  on  the  earth  plane,  whose  living, 
habits  and  morals  are  according  to  God's  revela- 
tion to  man.  As  to  his  morals  on  the  earth  plane, 
God  tells  us  that  wisdom  is  the  producer  of  all 
good  things. 

I  am  impressed  here  by  the  Spirit  to  make 
quite  an  extended  quotation  from  the  Bible.  It 
fits  in  here  most  appropriately,  and  is  so  much 
superior  to  all  the  science  of  man  as  the  spiritual 
is  superior  to  the  material.  I  quote  from  Pro- 
verbs Chap.  3rd:  "My  son,  forget  not  my  law; 
but  let  thine  heart  keep  my  commandments :  For 
length  of  days,  and  long  life,  and  peace  shall  they 
add  unto  thee. 

"Let  not  mercy  and  truth  forsake  thee:  bind 
them  about  thy  neck;  write  them  upon  the  table 
of  thine  heart : 

"So  shalt  thou  find  favor,  and  good  under- 
standing in  the  sight  of  God  and  man. 

"Trust  in  the  LORD  with  all  thine  heart ;  and 
lean  not  to  thine  own  understanding. 

"In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him,  and  he 
shall  direct  thy  paths. 

"Be  not  wise  in  thine  own  eyes:  fear  the 
Lord,  and  depart  from  evil.  It  shall  be  health 
to  life's  fountain,  and  marrow  to  thy  bones. 
Honor  the  Lord  with  thy  substance,  and  with  the 
first  fruits  of  all  thine  increase.     So  shall  thy 


50  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

barns  be  filled  with  plenty,  and  thy  presses  shall 
burst  out  with  new  wine. 

"My  son,  despise  not  the  chastening  of  the 
LORD;  neither  be  weary  of  his  correction:  for 
whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  correcteth;  even  as  a 
father  the  son  in  whom  he  delighteth. 

"Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom,  and 
the  man  that  getteth  understanding.  For  the 
merchandise  of  it  is  better  than  the  merchandise 
of  silver,  and  the  gain  thereof  than  of  fine  gold. 
She  is  more  precious  than  rubies:  and  all  the 
things  thou  canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared 
unto  her.  Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand; 
and  in  her  left  hand  riches,  and  honor.  Her  ways 
are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are 
peace.  She  is  a  tree  of  life  to  them  that  lay 
hold  on  her:  happy  is  every  one  that  retaineth 
her." 

I  have  made  this  lengthy  quotation  from  the 
Bible  because  it  contains  the  directions  which  God 
himself  has  given  to  man  so  that  man's  life  on 
earth  may  be  in  all  things  as  successful,  and 
happy  as  the  Father  of  all  intended  and  designed. 
But  alas,  man  has  by  disobedience  and  rebellion 
frustrated  the  intentions  and  wishes  of  the 
Father,  and  has  brought  upon  himself  all  the 
miseries  under  which  earth  groans,  and  all  the 
diseases  which  hasten  death.  The  rich  robber 
also  has  stolen  the  common  heritage,  and  the 
poor  robbed  of  their  fair  share  of  their  Father's 
bounty,  perish  in  starvation  and  die  before  their 
time. 

The  case  of  Mrs.  Rubio  suggests  some  reflec- 
tions on  Longevity,  which  will  demolish  some  of 
the  "fads"  which  the  wiseacres  have  been  crowd- 
ing on  us  for  some  decades.  She  knew  nothing 
at  all  of  "the  no  breakfast  plan."     She  knew 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  51 

nothing  at  all  of  the  wonderful  life-elongating 
properties  of  the  "raw  food  craze."  She  was 
absolutely  ignorant  of  the  life-extension  qualities 
of  "deep  breathing,"  nor  did  she  know  anything 
at  all  of  the  death  destroying  power  of  standing 
erect,  and  bending  her  body  so  that  with  the  tips 
of  her  fingers  she  could  touch  the  ground  at  least 
a  dozen  times  first  thing  every  morning.  She 
knew  nothing  at  all  about  how  many  "chews" 
she  should  give  her  food  before  she  let  it  descend 
into  the  Pylorus.  Nor  did  she  know  anything  of 
the  awful  consequence  to  the  stomach  and  body 
when  she  swallowed  a  mouthful  of  drink  with 
her  food.  And  as  for  the  poisonous  effects  of 
coffee,  and  their  obliteration  by  "Postum"  the 
simple  lady  knew  just  "nothin'-at-all,"  like  my 
illustrious  fellow  countryman,  Pat.  Moreover, 
she  knew  nothing  of  "Calories,  carbo-hydrates, 
proteids,  or  mineral  salts,"  and  how  they  should 
be  scientifically  arranged  so  as  to  become  foods 
and  not  poisons.  She  knew  nothing  of  oxygen, 
hydrogen,  carbonic  acid,  or  carbon  dioxide.  Nor 
did  she  know  anything  of  the  rejuvenating  effects 
of  the  bath,  nor  was  she  at  all  acquainted  with 
the  life-prolonging  exercise  of  grasping  a  beam 
above  her  head,  and  pulling  herself  up  by  grasp 
of  her  hands,  and  letting  herself  down  till  toes 
touched  the  ground  at  least  twelve  times  every 
morning.  She  knew  nothing  of  the  marvellous 
revelations  of  Science,  yet  she  lived  107  years, 
and  mothered  twenty-five  children.  She  pro- 
duced and  mothered  twenty-five  babies;  attended 
to  all  motherly  and  womanly  functions,  lived  107 
years,  and  all  without  any  scientific  aids  to  Lon- 
gevity. Now,  what  do  you  know  about  that?  I 
tell  you  she  was  a  wonder. 

But  say,  she  was  just  an  illustration  of  the 


52  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

natural  span  of  life  which  God  now  desires  for 
his  children,  if  they  would  only  behave  them- 
selves.   See? 

But  there  is  one  feature  in  the  life  of  Mrs. 
Rubio  which  must  not  be  ignored.  She  was  born 
in  such  circumstances  in  relation  to  those  things 
necessary  for  sustenance,  that  she  had  no  worry 
about  "something"  to  eat.  See?  Worry  about 
this  is  now  very  prevalent.  And  why?  Well, 
because  the  real  good  business  men,  the  brainy 
fellows  you  know,  have  just  grasped  a  little  more 
than  their  share,  and  the  "weaker  brethren"  are 
left  to  worry.  Now,  long  life  and  worry,  are 
incompatible,  and  never  can  co-exist.  One  of 
them  must  vacate  the  ranch.  Worry,  and  lon- 
gevity are  irreconcilable  enemies.  Therefore, 
"swat"  worry,  if  you  can. 

My  readers  will  please  observe  that  I  am  not 
selecting  wonderful  lives  of  the  records  of  ages 
past;  nor  am  I  selecting  examples  from  the 
"Nobility,  and  Gentry,"  save  the  mark!  No,  I 
am  recording  the  lives  and  habits  of  men  and 
women  who  have  lived  to  "long  life"  amongst  us, 
many  of  whom  are  living  now.  My  object  is  to 
show  from  real  present  examples,  that  100  years 
of  earth  life  is  quite  normal,  and  should  be  at- 
tained by  all,  and  without  any  extra  contortions 
and  manipulations  to  attain  it.  I  am  also  show- 
ing that  Longevity  is  not  at  all  associated  with 
either  physical  or  mental  imbecility.  See?  I  am 
writing  history  of  the  "common  people,  or  the 
"hoi  polloi."  And  I  am  dealing  with  facts,  not 
metaphysical,  and  matterless  guesses. 

Now  here  is  another: 

AGE  KEPT  HIM  FROM  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

I  quote  from  the  Examiner  of  Jan.  9th,  1921 : 
"Wheeling,  (W.  Va.,)  Jan.  8.    George  Crow,  who 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  53 

was  rejected  because  of  his  advanced  age  by  a 
recruiting  officer  when  he  sought  to  enlist  for 
military  service  in  the  Civil  War,  died  at  the 
family  home,  Denver  Hill,  near  Littleton,  W.  Va., 
last  night.  Mr.  Crow  recently  celebrated  his 
108th  birthday  anniversary  by  riding  eight  miles 
on  his  horse  to  the  home  of  one  of  his  sons." 

Pretty  good  for  an  old  man.  Eh?.  No  sign 
of  the  imbecility  of  old  age  here.    See? 

Now  here  is  another  of  those  young-old  chaps 
who  make  "fiddle-faddle"  out  of  our  common 
ideas  of  the  mental  declension  attendant  on  old 
age.    I  quote  from  the  local  press: 

"Schenectady,  New  York,  June  29,  1820. 
Washington  Bissel,  100  years  old,  is  perhaps 
America's  oldest  lawyer.  He  received  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  laws  from  Union  College  here  at  its 
124th  Commencement.  He  is  the  oldest  alumnus, 
having  graduated  in  the  class  of  1846.  Dr.  Bissell 
lives  at  Great  Barrington,  Mass.  He  is  a  Chi 
Psi  fraternity  man. 

Say,  now  what  do  you  think  of  that?  The 
record  is  indisputable.  Not  much  sign  of  the 
mental  imbecility,  supposed  to  attend  old  age  in 
this  case.  No  camouflage  here.  "Facts  are  chiels 
that  winna  ding,  and  dare  na  be  disputed,"  as 
the  great  Burns  once  said. 

And  now  here  is  an  inventor  at  91.  He 
patents  a  floor  after  forty-three  years  of  effort. 
I  quote  from  the  News  record  of  the  event : 

After  working  on  an  invention  to  make 
wedge-tight  flooring  for  forty-three  years,  Samuel 
Hedges,  of  4607  Welch  place,  a  building  con- 
tractor, 91  years  old,  has  just  received  assurance 
from  Washington  that  a  patent  would  be  granted 
him. 


5U  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

He  claims  that  his  invention  will  save  one- 
third  in  material,  and  add  one-third  in  floor 
efficiency.  Hedges,  who  has  been  a  resident  of 
Los  Angeles  for  thirty-four  years,  gives  an  in- 
teresting insight  into  the  business  of  making 
flooring  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago. 
He  said:  "I  made  flooring  seventy-three  years 
ago.  See  how  it  is  done  now,  as  compared  with 
then ;  a  fair  day's  work  was  ten  boards  six  inches 
wide,  and  12  feet  long.  A  day's  work  then  was 
twelve  to  sixteen  hours  long,  winter  and  summer. 
Thus,  an  average  day's  work  would  be,  in  making 
flooring  120  feet  in  length  and  6  inches  in  width, 
which  would  make  a  floor  less  than  72  square  feet. 

"The  first  machine  to  make  flooring  began 
working  about  sixty-three  years  ago,  and  al- 
though they  have  made  great  improvements  in 
machines  to  manufacture  flooring,  the  best  they 
can  do  is  to  make  the  same  old  wasteful  tongue 
and  groove  flooring  that  I  made  seventy-three 
years  ago  by  hand. 

"One  of  these  latest  machines  will  turn  out 
in  a  day  of  eight  hours  about  8000  square  feet 
of  flooring;  something  over  one  hundred  times 
what  I  could  do  by  hand  when  in  my  prime. 
However,  when  you  consider  that  floor  boards  are 
now  only  4  inches  wide,  these  improved  machines 
will  produce  150  times  the  lineal  per  hour  that 
I  could,  and  if  they  had  to  work  sixteen  hours 
per  day,  as  I  did,  they  could  turn  out  300  times 
the  lineal  feet  per  day  that  I  could,  and  not  get 
one-half  as  tired." 

While  few  men  91  years  old  enjoy  as  good 
health  and  strength  as  does  Hedges,  yet  neces- 
sarily, he  has  not  the  vigor  and  strength  of  yore. 
However,  he  is  still  on  the  job,  for  while  the  great 
flooring  mills  are  busy  making  the  same  old  style 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  55 

of  flooring  he  made  seventy-three  years  ago,  he 
is  using  his  brains,  and  in  the  past  six  or  eight 
years  has  invented  what  he  calls  the  "Wedge 
Tight  Flooring,"  and  has  recently  received  the 
assurance  from  Washington  that  he  would  soon 
be  rewarded  with  a  Patent  fully  covering  his 
claims,  and  protecting  him  against  all  comers. 

The  world  is  Psychologized  on  the  feebleness 
of  age,  and  its  general  incompetency.  What  is 
now  needed  is  to  destroy  the  Psychology  of  the 
inefficiency  of  years,  and  enfeeblement  of  time, 
and  "forget  it."  See?  Dr.  Osier,  professionally 
dogmatizing,  declared  that  all  men  who  venture 
in  unscientific  persistence  to  reach  60  years  of 
age  should  be  chloroformed.  However,  the  Doc- 
tor failed  to  take  his  own  medicine,  when  the 
fateful  60  came  to  himself.  O  dear!  How  this 
world  has  been  blessed  by  the  wisdom  of  the 
"wise"  and  the  ravings  of  the  scientific.  May 
the  good  Lord  send  us  deliverance  before  com- 
plete idiocy  enwraps  us  all  in  its  variegated  man- 
tle of  imbecility.  There  are  three  things  which 
are  more  enthusing  to  give,  than  to  receive.  They 
are  kicks,  medicine,  and  advice.  Now,  mark  this, 
and  behave  yourself  accordingly. 

My  effort  in  this  book  is  to  antagonize  the 
general  Psychology  of  age,  and  restore  the  Psy- 
chology of  the  dominance  of  "The  Spirit."  For 
the  Spirit  giveth  life,  and  overcometh  death.  Let 
us  forget  age,  with  its  querulous  broken  hearted- 
ness,  and  inefficiency,  and  let  us  cast  out  the 
demon  that  has  so  generally  psychologized  us 
with  the  idea  of  feebleness  and  incompetency  as 
the  natural  accompaniments  of  years.     See? 

An  illustration  of  my  meaning:  I  shall  now 
give  you  a  report  from  The  Examiner  of  Los 
Angeles,  containing  an  account  of  a  meeting  of 


56  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

"twelve  old  wise  men,"  aged  from  81  to  92. 
These  (imbeciles  who  should  have  been  chloro- 
formed thirty  years  previously)  held  a  luncheon 
at  the  home  of  Daniel  Hawk,  1305  Winfield  street, 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  to  honor  him  on  the  arrival 
of  his  85th  birthday.  There  were  twelve  guests. 
The  paper  recording  the  event  calls  them  the 
"twelve  old  wise  men."  And  here  is  the  account 
as  given  by  the  newspaper : 

"The  twelve  old  wise  men,  a  unique  Los 
Angeles  organization,  whose  youngest  member  is 
81  years  old,  and  whose  oldest  is  92,  yesterday 
celebrated  the  approaching  85th  birthday  anni- 
versary of  one  of  their  number,  Daniel  Hawk, 
with  a  luncheon  at  his  home,  1305  Winfield  street. 

"Eleven  of  the  'wise  men'  were  present,  Silas 
Judd,  89,  of  Azusa,  not  being  able  to  attend  be- 
cause of  illness  in  his  family.  The  members  in- 
clude in  their  number  a  clergyman,  two  doctors, 
a  judge,  and  a  general.  They  are  as  follows: 
Sturges  Selleck,  1345  Toberman  street,  91;  R.  A. 
Lock,  1349  Oak  street,  84 ;  G.  W.  Bowman,  1227 
Winfield  street,  82;  Gen.  John  H.  Wilcox,  5357 
Virginia  avenue,  82;  Judge  Eugene  H.  Bonfils, 
2940  Howard  street,  85 ;  Daniel  Hawk,  1305  Win- 
field street,  85;  the  Rev.  H.  L.  Canfield,  316  Ken- 
sington place,  85;  Dr.  A.  W.  Sherman,  266  Ar- 
cadia avenue,  88 ;  Dr.  A.  L.  Beck,  1835  Twelfth 
street,  84;  A.  J.  Whitmore,  Fourth  avenue,  91, 
and  T.  H.  Loyhed,  1443  Winfield  street,  83. 

"With  witty  stories,  culled  from  eleven  long 
lifetimes  of  experience,  the  diners  regaled  them- 
selves around  a  table  decorated  with  carnations 
and  roses,  and  General  Wilcox  displayed  a  copy 
of  the  emancipation  Proclamation  of  President 
Lincoln,  written  in  script,  the  shading  of  which 
formed  a  realistic  portrait  of  Lincoln. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  57 

"The  Rev.  H.  L.  Canfield,  aged  85,  read  an 
original  poem  which  he  had  written  for  the  occa- 
sion.   Here  it  is: 
"Our  years  are  going  with  increasing  swiftness, 

The  stream  of  time  glides  rapidly  away; 
And  on  its  flowing  tide  it  ever  bears  us, 

Nearer  the  sunset  of  our  life's  short  day. 
But  as  the  stream  rolls  on  its  current  deepens, 

And  more  serene  and  peaceful  is  its  flow; 
Unlike  the  noisy  gurgling  of  the  streamlet, 

In  the  dim  morning  of  the  'long  ago/ 
The  shallow  transient  pleasures  of  our  childhood, 

The  merry  laughter,  and  the  careless  play, 
Fail  to  content  us  when  with  opening  manhood, 

Crude  thoughts,  and  childish  things  are  put 
away. 
Our  childish  hopes  so  vain,  our  friendships  fickle, 

Our  cup  of  bliss  so  often  dashed  with  tears, 
Give  not  one-half  the  solid  satisfaction, 

Found  in  experience  of  riper  years. 
The  joys  of  wedded  life,  the  peace  abiding, 

That  make  our  home  a  Paradise  below; 
The  helpful  sympathy  and  Love  confiding, 

Such  as  the  truly  wedded  only  know. 
The  honest  toil,  the  noble  strong  ambition, 

The  lofty  courage,  unalloyed  by  fears; 
Unflinching  loyalty  to  truth,  and  duty — 

These  make  the  bliss  of  our  maturer  years. 
If  these  are  crowned  with  hopes  of  life  immortal, 

Awaiting  us  when  life's  work  is  done, 
No  danger  can  alarm,  or  fears  annoy  us, 

As  the  tide  bears  us  toward  the  setting  sun. 
Then  let  the  years  fly  with  increasing  swiftness, 

And  let  time's  stream  glide  rapidly  away, 
Since  on  the  bosom  of  its  flood  it  bear  us 

Nearer  the  portals  of  the  eternal  day. 
Where  hope  at  last  shall  change  to  glad  fruition, 


58  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

And  life,  and  love,  and  joy,  shall  never  cease ; 
Where  all  time's  babbling  brooks,  and  flowing 
rivers 

Merge  in  the  boundless  ocean  of  God's  peace." 

Well,  reader,  there  isn't  much  of  the  so-called 
querulousness  and  broken-heartedness  of  old  age 
exemplified  at  this  meeting  of  nonagenarians. 
Now  is  there?  Honest.  And  say,  the  whole 
thing  is  truth  absolute,  and  no  camouflage  about 
it. 

Now  here  is  another  sweet  girl  dancer  at  the 
sprightly  age  of  81.  She  is  Mrs.  Helena  A.  Sheets. 
At  81  she  does  her  own  housework;  and  likes  to 
attend  Balls. 

How  many  women  are  there  in  the  Southland 
who  dance  the  tango  at  81  years  of  age?  And 
how  many  are  there  of  that  age  who  have  had 
fifteen  children,  do  their  own  housework  daily 
and,  when  the  occasion  arises,  do  not  miss  a  dance 
on  the  program  at  a  lodge  social?  Mrs.  Helena 
A.  Sheets,  of  111-A  Carr  street,  is  one. 

"Dancing?  I  always  loved  to  dance.  I  taught 
my  children  and  grandchildren  the  steps  that  hap- 
pened to  be  in  vogue  when  they  wanted  to  learn. 
It's  healthful  exercise,  and  I  expect  to  dance  for 
many  years  to  come,"  says  Mrs.  Sheets. 

Before  the  Civil  War,  Mrs.  Sheets  danced  the 
quaint  quadrilles  of  the  time.  She  lived  in  the 
South  much  of  her  life.  She  was  in  great  demand 
as  a  dancing  partner  before  her  marriage,  which 
was  when  she  was  only  15. 

Her  little  granddaughter,  Leontine  Sheets,  is 
her  latest  pupil.  Leontine  is  the  daughter  of 
G.  M.  Sheets,  manager  of  the  Golden  State  Moose 
lodge  No.  29.  Mrs.  Sheets  and  Leontine  fre- 
quently are  seen  dancing  the  latest  dances  at  the 
social  affairs  given  by  the  lodge. 


CHAPTER  IV 

FACTS  AND  PHILOSOPHY  CONCERNING 
LONG  LIFE 

Now  I  think  it  is  time  to  give  you  some  secrets 
of  health,  telling  you  how  overwork  induces 
fatigue,  which  in  turn  breeds  disease.  I  quote 
from  ROYAL  S.  COPELAND,  M.  D.,  F.  A.  C.  S., 
Commissioner  of  Health,  New  York  City: 

"Good  health,  to  a  very  great  extent,  depends 
upon  the  proper  amount  of  exercise  and  muscular 
effort.  Undue  effort,  and  overwork  show  their 
effects  in  various  ways. 

The  blood  pressure  may  be  altered.  In  one 
case  there  may  be  a  material  increase  of  pressure. 
In  other  cases  there  may  be  a  lowered  pressure 
— this  is  particularly  true  of  women. 

Long  continued  overwork  will  so  lower  the 
resistance  of  the  body  as  to  render  it  liable  to  any 
passing  infection.  Such  a  person  may  pick  up 
typhoid  fever,  or  pneumonia. 

Even  though  the  tired-out  individual  does  not 
suffer  from  some  acute  illness,  his  bodily  vitality 
may  be  so  depressed  that  the  heart  no  longer 
does  its  work  properly.  As  a  result  of  the 
weakened  heart  action,  the  blood  moves  slug- 
gishly through  the  body,  the  wastes  and  poisons 
are  not  removed,  the  kidneys  become  diseased, 
old  age  comes  on  apace,  and  life  actually  may  be 
materially  shortened. 

You  and  I  know  when  we  are  tired.  We  may 
feel  tired,  and  look  tired,  but  is  there  any  way 


60  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

actually  to  prove  that  we  are  tired? 

If  you  draw  a  blunt  object,  like  the  top  of 
your  fountain  pen,  down  the  front  of  your  arm, 
bearing  on  considerably,  it  will  make  a  white 
streak.  Watch  that  streak  for  a  few  moments. 
It  will  be  seen  to  disappear,  the  skin  resume  its 
natural  color,  and  then  turn  red. 

The  speed  at  which  this  transformation  takes 
place  is  determined  by  the  reaction  of  your  blood 
vessels.  If  you  are  tired  you  will  note  the  slug- 
gishness of  the  change.  If  you  are  full  of  "pep" 
this  reaction  takes  place  at  once. 

You  cannot  burn  the  candle  at  both  ends.  It 
is  impossible  to  cheat  nature.  You  may  think 
you  are  strong  enough  to  work  all  day,  and  dance 
all  night.    You  can't  stand  the  pace  for  long. 

When  I  was  a  little  boy  I  lived  in  a  town  to 
which  a  great  astronomer  came  to  win  his  bride. 
Later,  he  became  a  world-known  figure  in  his 
specialty.  He  knew  all  about  the  stars.  He  had 
the  table  of  logarithms  by  heart.  Give  him  the 
dimensions  of  a  building,  and  instantly  he  could 
tell  the  number  of  feet  of  lumber  necessary  to 
build  it. 

This  man  was  not  satisfied  to  study  the  stars 
at  night.  The  nights  were  too  short.  He  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  digging  a  deep  well  and  setting 
up  his  telescope  there.  The  scheme  succeeded. 
He  could  see  the  stars  by  daylight! 

What  happened  to  the  man? 

Great  as  he  was,  wonderful  as  was  his  mathe- 
matical mind,  his  body  could  not  endure  such 
wicked  demands  upon  its  resistance.  In  a  few 
weeks  he  contracted  pneumonia  and  died. 

OVERWORK  AND  FATIGUE  FOSTER  DIS- 
EASE. Unless  the  heart  and  kidneys  and  other 
vital  organs  are  given  a  chance  to  rest,  the  re- 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  61 

sistance  of  the  body  breaks  down.  If  you  would 
live  long  and  prosper,  take  the  rest  nature  de- 
mands. 

Now  we  come  to  record  the  topnotcher.  The 
record  is  indisputable,  and  the  history  is  unim- 
peachable truth.  The  record,  and  history,  and 
triumphs  of  the  man  are  written  in  our  National 
records,  and  his  services  to  humanity  are  an 
imperishable  part  of  the  history  of  Christian 
heroism.    I  quote  from  the  Los  Angeles  Times : 

One  step  to  full  Century.  Preacher  is  Nation's 
Oldest  Civil  War  Veteran.  At  Ninety-nine  writes 
book  on  Philosophy.  Five  generations  covered 
by  the  same  roof. 

Rev.  David  Jordan  Higgins  carries  with  ease 
his  99  years.  He  has  a  powerful  body,  all  muscle 
and  bone;  and  his  head  is  that  of  a  philosopher. 
He  has  the  eye  of  a  seer  who  looks  down  the 
vista  of  a  nation's  progress,  and  he  laughed  a 
soundless  laugh  as  he  stood  in  the  doorway  of 
his  home  at  No.  915  Maple  street,  Pasadena, 
where  he  came  to  round  out  his  Century. 

"You  can  rummage  around  in  my  past,  and 
see  if  you  can  find  anything  interesting.  But 
I'm  all  through  with  the  past!  I'm  living  in  the 
present,  for  my  future  was  taken  care  of  over 
ninety  years  ago. 

"I  was  a  boy  of  seven  and  my  mother  was 
reproving  me  for  a  childish  prank,  and  said: 
'You  mustn't  do  it  again,  for  you  know  you  are 
God's  little  boy!'  And  I  answered  rebelliously : 
'I  know  you,  and  I  know  father,  and  I  know  the 
neighbors,  but  I  don't  know  God.'  'Well  you  had 
better  get  acquainted  with  him  and  make  sure 
you  are  his  little  boy.'  And  so  I  went  out  into 
the  barn,  and  sat  down  on  the  golden  straw,  and 
looking  up  into  the  sky  where  I  thought   God 


62  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

lived,  called  out :  'Say,  God !  I  don't  know  you ! 
But  I'd  like  to  get  acquainted  with  you,  and  find 
out  if  I'm  your  little  boy !" 

RECEIVES  ANSWER 

"In  over  ninety  years  I  have  never  been  able 
to  figure  out  how  I  got  the  answer,  but  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  I  knew  that  I  was  God's 
little  boy,  and  I've  never  doubted  it  from  that 
day  to  this.  I've  often  been  a  bad  little  boy,  but 
today  at  99  I'm  still  God's  little  boy!" 

Stand  up,  David  Jordan  Higgins,  and  tell  us 
what  you  have  done  in  your  ninety-nine  years! 
But  he  had  no  need  to  stand  and  tell  of  his  life, 
for  it  is  written  in  the  records  of  his  country. 

David  Jordan  Higgins  is  the  oldest  veteran 
in  the  United  States.  He  was  a  colonel  in  the 
Twenty-fourth  Ohio  Regiment,  and  gave  three 
years  of  honorable  service.  He  went  out  a  strong, 
vigorous  man  in  the  full  tide  of  successful  min- 
istry, and  he  came  home  bent  double  with  the 
privations  of  army  life. 

STILL  PREACHES 

David  Jordan  Higgins  is  the  oldest  active 
minister  in  this  country,  and  has  attended  church 
for  ninety-five  years,  and  for  forty-six  years  has 
never  missed  a  session  of  Sunday  school.  He 
annually  preaches  the  sermon  for  Old  Folks'  Day 
in  Pasadena.  This  year  he  talked  on  the  inner 
life  of  man,  and  before  the  service  he  called  for 
the  veterans,  and  the  boys  in  blue  and  gray  re- 
sponded to  the  call.  Half  the  congregation  stood 
up,  when  he  asked  for  those  over  60  to  rise. 
There  were  many  over  70,  a  number  over  80; 
Mr.  Higgins  rounded  the  quartet  of  those  over 
90.     It  was  a  most  impressive  moment  in  the 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  63 

history  of  the  Lake  Avenue  Methodist  Church  of 
Pasadena. 

David  Jordan  Higgins  is  the  oldest  producing 
author  in  this  country.  His  newest  book,  "The 
Psychological  Study  of  Human  Nature,"  is  on  the 
press.  Another  book  is  nearly  finished,  and  his 
"American  Life  During  the  Nineteenth  Century" 
is  in  the  public  libraries.  His  "How  to  Continue 
Young  for  a  Century,"  is  a  fascinating  document. 

BUILDER  OF  CHURCHES 

Mr.  Higgins  is  the  oldest  builder  of  Churches 
and  parsonages,  and  probably  no  minister  of  the 
present  age  has  built  as  many  as  Mr.  Higgins, 
as  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago  skill  in  car- 
pentry was  an  important  adjunct  to  pulpit  min- 
istrations, as  the  country  was  new,  and  the 
people  poor.  He  was  also  prominent  in  educa- 
tional affairs,  founded  a  seminary,  was  a  radical 
abolitionist,  and  a  tireless  worker  for  prohibition. 

Mr.  Higgins  is  the  oldest  man  who  daily  uses 
a  typewriter.  He  comes  in  alone  to  attend  the 
ministers'  meetings  in  Los  Angeles  every  week. 
He  began  life  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  and  hopes 
to  end  the  journey  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  At  97 
he  crossed  the  Continent,  and  declares  "It  is  in 
my  contract  to  celebrate  my  Centenarian  birth- 
day with  my  old  Conference  in  Minneapolis  next 
year." 

Five  generations  live  in  one  home  with  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  E.  I.  Spencer,  of  Pasadena.  Mr. 
Higgins  has  baptized  his  children,  his  grandchil- 
dren, his  great-grandchildren,  and  on  the  head 
of  his  great-great-grandchild  has  poured  the  re- 
generation fluid. 

David  Jordan  Higgins  squares  his  life  by  his 
creed,  "Look  up !    Lift  up !    Get  up !" 


U  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

I  have  just  been  reading  the  life  and  labors 
of  a  wonderful  preacher  and  Evangelist  named 
Taylor.  The  book  was  published  in  New  York 
by  Hunt  and  Eaton,  150  Fifth  avenue,  1895.  It 
is  entitled,  "Story  of  my  life,  An  account  of  what 
I  have  thought,  and  said,  and  done  in  my  min- 
istry of  more  than  fifty-three  years  in  Christian 
Lands,  and  among  the  Heathen,  written  by  my- 
self," by  William  Taylor,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  for  Africa.  Edited  by  John 
Clark  Ridpath,  copiously  Embellished  with  orig- 
inal Engravings,  and  Sketches  by  Frank  Beard. 
I  give  all  this  so  that  the  truth  of  the  extract 
which  I  am  about  to  copy  cannot  be  questioned. 
I  don't  want  to  be  accused  of  camouflage,  or 
writing  pure  inventions  when  I  am  talking  about 
100  years  and  over  of  efficient  human  life  in  the 
present  Century,  and  to  prove  that  I  am  not  feed- 
ing my  readers  fairy  tales,  as  I  have  been  accused 
by  one  gentleman,  who,  notwithstanding  my 
"Irish,"  is  still  in  the  flesh.    See? 

The  incident  that  I  extract  from  Bishop 
Taylor's  "Story  of  my  life"  is  thusly:  "Having 
spent  a  few  days  in  and  about  Franklin,  Brother 
Busey  and  I  set  out  on  horseback  to  go  to  quar- 
terly meeting  at  Rehobeth,  in  the  western  part 
of  what  is  now  known  as  Highland. 

We  had  a  great  "Quarterly  Love-Feast"  Sab- 
bath morning  at  9  o'clock.  Among  our  young 
converts  at  that  meeting  was  James  McCourt. 
He  was  a  Scotchman  by  descent  but  had  been  in 
America  for  nearly  one  hundred  years.  At  the 
time  he  was  "born  again"  he  lacked  three  months 
of  being  99  years  old !  We  will  meet  the  old  man 
again  on  my  next  circuit." 

This  meeting  occurred  as  predicted,  and  is 
thus  described  by  the  preacher :    "One  day,  when 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  65 

preaching  at  Red  Holes  I  saw  in  my  congregation 
James  McCourt,  who  was  saved  a  year  before  at 
our  quarterly  meeting  at  Rehobeth,  on  Franklin 
Circuit,  at  the  age  of  98  years  and  9  months. 
So  now  he  was  100  years  old,  less  three  months. 
At  the  close  he  ran  up  and  shook  hands  with  me. 

"You  are  abiding  in  Jesus,  Father  McCourt?" 

"O  yes,  Brother  Taylor,  and  he  is  becoming 
more  and  more  precious  to  me  every  day." 

"How  wonderful  that  he  has  spared  you  so 
many  years,  and  in  such  vigor!" 

"Yes,  I  never  had  the  headache  in  my  life, 
and  no  serious  illness  of  any  sort.  I  walked 
across  four  mountains  today  to  hear  you  preach 
once  more  before  you  leave  your  circuit."  Mean- 
time he  tripped  along  by  my  side  in  a  glee  of 
talk  like  a  boy. 

"If  the  Lord  spares  me  three  months  longer 
I  will  complete  my  hundredth  year.  Dr.  Buckner 
says  he  is  going  to  have  a  celebration  on  my 
birthday,  completing  a  century,  and  have  me  run, 
to  see  how  fast  a  man  of  my  years  can  get  over 
the  ground." 

I  have  quoted  from  Bishop  Taylor  in  this 
record  of  James  McCourt,  to  prevent  any  sceptic 
from  accusing  me  of  lying.  It  is  dangerous  to 
call  ah  Irishman  a  liar,  because  d'ye  see,  he  has 
a  knack  of  handling  the  Shillalah. 

Bishop  Taylor  continues  his  reminiscence  of 
James  McCourt  as  follows:  "I  was  wonderfully 
interested  in  the  dear  little  man,  one  of  my  first 
young  converts,  but  I  saw  him  no  more.  About 
thirty-five  years  after  I  met  Brother  Bevans  and 
wife  in  Chicago.  They  were  well  acquainted  with 
James  McCourt. 

"Well,  Brother  Bevens,  tell  me  about  him." 


66  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

He  replied:  "I  was  at  the  celebration  Dr. 
Buckner  got  up  on  the  centennial  of  James 
McCourt.  The  old  man  was  in  perfect  health, 
happy  in  God,  and  cheerful  as  a  lark.  The  friends 
made  up  a  purse  of  $100  to  give  him  as  a  token 
of  their  love  and  respect  for  him,  but  they  said, 
"We  want  to  see  you  run,  and  if  you  run  100 
yards  in  five  minutes  we  will  give  you  a  present 
of  $100."  The  distance  was  measured  carefully, 
and  the  signal  for  starting  sounded,  and  the  old 
man  ran  the  hundred  yards  in  three  minutes, 
instead  of  five." 

When  the  dear  old  man  was  103  years  old  he 
came  out  to  Queen  Ann  County,  northwest  of 
Chicago,  to  visit  some  of  his  grandchildren.  A 
good  old  Christian  man,  who  had  the  happy  art 
of  cheerfulness  that  made  everybody  about  him 
cheerful.  After  a  visit  of  several  months,  when 
he  wanted  to  return  to  Virginia,  the  railway  com- 
pany were  so  pleased  with  his  spirit  and  bearing 
that  they  gave  him  a  free  pass  back  to  his  home. 
He  lived  four  years  after  that,  and  died  in  the 
Lord  at  the  age  of  107  years." 

Now,  I  don't  suppose  anyone  will  have  the 
audacity  to  accuse  me  of  camouflage  in  this  record 
of  age.  The  testimony  is  by  an  eminent  Bishop 
of  the  Church.  Also  it  is  confirmed  by  many 
witnesses.  There  is  no  evidence  of  senility  in 
the  record. 

McCourt  knew  nothing  of  gymnastics,  nor  did 
he  practice  any  peculiar  calisthenics  whose  aid 
is  indispensible  to  longevity.  No  peculiarities  in 
diet,  or  in  exercises  lent  their  powerful  assistance 
to  the  prolonging  of  life. 

That  he  was  "born  again"  at  100  years  of  age 
is  a  remarkable  proof  of  the  eternal  youthf ulness 
of  the  human  spirit,  and  that  it  never  suffers 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  67 

from  senility,  and  knows  nothing  of  the  lapse 
of  time,  but  like  its  parent,  GOD,  is  from  ever- 
lasting to  everlasting.  God  breathed  into  man's 
nostrils  the  breath  of  Life,  and  so  man  is  the 
offspring  of  God,  and  hence  himself  eternal. 

Another  characteristic  worthy  of  note  in  the 
life  of  McCourt:  He  was  always  of  gentle  and 
obliging  manners,  kind,  courteous  and  helpful  to 
a  degree.  The  smile  is  a  powerful  aid  to  health 
and  life.  The  frown  and  snarl  are  life  destroyers. 
Anger  is  destructive,  and  passion  is  an  annihil- 
lator.  The  one  is  an  angel  of  life,  the  other  is 
a  demon  of  death.  Therefore  if  you  would  live 
long,  and  enjoy  many  years,  let  love  be  regnant, 
and  do  good  to  all  men  as  you  have  opportunity, 
and  love  even  your  enemies.  This  will  do  more 
for  the  number  of  your  years  in  the  Earth-life 
than  all  the  exercises  and  genuflexions  and  con- 
tortions which  Physical  Science  and  the  pro- 
fessors of  Calisthenics  recommend  as  aids  to  long 
life  and  health.    See? 

In  this  record  I  am  piling  testimony  on  testi- 
mony to  show  that  100  years  and  over  of  earth 
life  is  no  miracle,  but  is  the  birthright  of  hu- 
manity, and  would  be  the  common  experience 
were  it  not  that  in  our  living  and  habits  we  have 
strayed  far  from  the  inspiration  of  our  Father, 
God. 

Now  here  are  three  women  whose  united  ages 
amount  to  300  years,  and  no  lies  in  the  record. 
I  quote  from  the  "Examiner."  Lydia  Sharpless, 
107  years,  the  oldest  voter  in  the  United  States, 
cast  her  ballot  at  Whittier  today,  and  announced 
that  she  had  voted  for  California  "dry."  Mary 
A.  Coffin,  96  years  old,  and  Mary  Holden,  97, 
also  voted  the  Prohibition  ticket.  Eh?  Whad'ya 
think  of  that,   now?     These  three   women,   ap- 


68  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

proaching  the  Century  each,  still  retain  sufficient 
intellect  to  direct  them  in  playing  their  part  in 
the  drama  of  life,  so  that  the  greatest  good  may 
come  to  the  greatest  number. 

Now  here  is  a  lady  whose  record  capsizes  all 
our  ideas  of  long  life,  and  the  scientific  aids  to 
its  attainment.  0,  it  is  pitiable  to  see  the  elab- 
orate rules  of  our  Philosophers  "knocked  into  a 
cocked  hat"  every  once  in  a  while  by  some  stub- 
born, uncultivated  creature  who  deliberately  and 
willfully  just  will  go  contrary  to  the  dictum  of 
the  "wise  ones.,, 

Bridget  Harney,  118,  died  in  Milwaukee.  She 
attributed  her  longevity  to  her  use  of  smoking 
tobacco ! !  The  paper  which  makes  this  record 
has  this  additional  counsel  for  us,  viz:  She  was 
doubtless  an  abstemious  eater.  No  overeater 
attains  great  age.  You  need  not  smoke  or  chew 
to  eat  moderately,  and  live  long. 

Neither  alcohol  nor  nicotine  does  one-thous- 
andth part  as  much  harm  as  eating  more  than 
can  be  digested  and  assimilated. 

Say,  the  guy  who  gives  this  opinion  is  near  it, 
mighty  near  it.  Over-eating  is  without  doubt  the 
cause  of  all  disease  in  the  multitudinous  forms 
and  names  by  which  disease  now  afflicts  us.  If 
the  inhabitants  of  earth  would  resolve  to  eat  only 
when  hungry,  and  only  one  article  of  food  at  a 
meal,  they  would  easily  reach  100  years  of  efficient 
earth-life,  but  then  the  Doctors,  poor  fellows, 
would  have  to  hustle  at  some  honest  employment 
for  a  living.     See? 


CHAPTER  V 
LONGEVITY  AND  THE  TOBACCO  HABIT 

Now  here  is  a  good  place  to  get  in  the  latest 
Science  on  the  smoking  Problem.  I  quote  from 
the  latest  Science,  by  Louise  A.  Gourdain : 

"The  reign  of  the  cigar,  the  cigaret,  and 
the  pipe  shows  no  signs  of  decadence;  on  the 
contrary,  even  women,  from  resignation,  have 
advanced — or  retrograded — to  the  position  of 
devotees.  Accordingly  science  is  exerting  itself 
to  limit  as  much  as  possible  the  disagreeable 
features  of  the  habit.  A  late  issue  of  the  London 
Lancet  sums  up  the  matter  quite  thoroughly. 

The  smoking  of  a  cigar,  pleasant  though  it 
may  be  to  the  smoker,  and  however  irreproach- 
able its  quality,  is  barred  by  most  careful  house- 
wives in  their  drawing  rooms,  because  its  reek 
is  so  persistent.  The  stale  smell  of  a  cigar  in  a 
room  is  peculariarly  unpleasant,  and  peculiarly 
difficult  to  get  rid  of.  It  clings  to  the  curtains, 
and  to  most  of  the  articles  of  furniture,  which 
present  any  sort  of  an  absorbent  surface. 

It  is  not  so  to  the  same  extent  with  cigarettes 
or  with  pipes.  In  the  case  even  of  a  single  cigar, 
books,  papers,  and  textiles  reek  of  a  stale  flavor, 
and  the  room  requires  abundant  airing  before 
that  flavor  can  be  eliminated. 

Air  is  an  excellent  scavenger,  but  ozone  is 
more  active  in  removing  the  smell.  The  effect 
that  the  smoking  of  a  cigar  produces  a  larger 
quantity  of  pungent  aromatic  oils  than  does  the 
smoking  of  a  cigarette  or  pipe.     In  the  case  of 


70  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

the  cigaret,  oils  are  probably  burnt,  even  if  they 
are  formed;  in  the  pipe  they  condense  in  the 
stem,  while  in  the  case  of  the  cigar  they  are 
probably  for  the  most  part  discharged  into  the 
air. 

In  the  form  of  a  cigar  tobacco  would  appear 
to  produce  more  oils  than  in  the  form  of  a  cigaret, 
or  when  burnt  in  a  pipe.  Such  common  observa- 
tions are  not  without  hygienic  significance. 

Pyridine,  the  most  poisonous  oil  produced  in 
the  semi-combustion  of  tobacco,  is  an  abundant 
product  in  cigar  smoking,  as  it  is  also  in  the 
pipe;  but  in  the  latter  there  is  condensation, 
While  in  the  former  there  is  little  or  none.  In 
the  cigaret,  so  intimately  in  contact  with  the  air 
is  the  burning  portion  that  the  production  of 
distilled  oils  is,  comparatively  speaking,  trifling. 

The  symptoms  of  tobacco  smoke  poisoning  are 
not  necessarily  due  to  nicotine:  they  are  more 
often  due  to  pyridine,  or  poisoning  from  tobacco 
tar  oils.  The  tobacco  heart  is  more  often  trace- 
able to  free  indulgence  in  cigar  smoking,  than  to 
a  similar  indulgence  in  the  pipe  and  the  cigaret. 

Young  boys  can  smoke,  to  their  great  damage 
nevertheless  a  considerable  number  of  cigarets, 
or  even  pipes,  but  an  equivalent  in  cigars  more 
than  satisfies  their  tobacco  appetite,  so  soon  are 
the  toxic  effects  of  cigar  smoking  made  apparent 
to  them. 

The  specially  harmful  character  of  cigaret 
smoking  arises  from  the  fact  that  this  form  of 
tobacco  lends  itself  to  constant  smoking  at  all 
hours  of  the  day,  and  also  from  the  extraordinary 
substances  which  are  used  in  the  preparation  of 
these  noxious  articles  in  the  United  States." 

Now,  the  above  is  pretty  good  as  a  mild  re- 
monstrance, but  now  I  follow  with  a  real  Scien- 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  71 

tific  examination  of  this  domestic,  and  almost 
universal  enemy  to  life,  health,  and  efficiency. 

Effects  of  Tobacco:  "Come,  let  us  reason 
together."  Especially  do  I  want  a  word  with  the 
boys  who  have  not  begun  the  use  of  this  herb, 
or  having  but  lately  begun  are  at  present  wres- 
tling with  the  problem,  mentally  and  physically. 

In  an  experimental  observation  of  thirty- 
eight  boys  of  all  classes  of  society,  and  of  average 
health,  who  had  been  using  tobacco  for  periods 
ranging  from  two  months  to  two  years,  twenty- 
seven  of  them  showed  severe  injury  to  the  con- 
stitution and  insufficient  growth;  thirty-two 
showed  the  existence  of  irregularities  of  the 
heart's  action,  a  disordered  stomach,  a  cough, 
and  a  craving  for  alcoholic  liquors;  thirteen  had 
intermittancy  of  the  pulse,  and  one  had  consump- 
tion. After  they  had  abandoned  the  use  of  to- 
bacco for  six  months,  one-half  were  free  from 
all  their  former  symptoms,  and  the  remainder 
recovered  by  the  end  of  the  year. 

When  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  was  asked 
"Should  we  smoke?"  he  answered:  "Certainly 
not.  Smoking  is  liable  to  injure  the  sight,  to 
render  the  nerves  unsteady,  to  enfeeble  the  will, 
and  enslave  the  nature  to  an  imperious  habit 
likely  to  stand  in  the  way  of  a  duty  to  be  per- 
formed." 

The  chemical  elements  of  tobacco  are  decidedly 
poisonous  to  the  human  system,  and  there  are 
no  known  antidotes.  The  first  element  is  a  volatile 
oil  or  fat,  obtained  by  distilling  the  smoke  of 
tobacco.  It  has  the  odor  of  tobacco  and,  when 
inhaled,  produces  the  same  sensation  as  smoke. 
When  applied  to  the  nose  its  pungency  causes 
vomiting;  taken  internally,  it  produces  giddiness, 
nausea,  and  a  staggering  walk.    IT  IS  POISON, 


72  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

The  second  element  is  a  volatile  alkali  called 
Nicotine.  It,  too,  is  a  deadly  poison,  next  in  rank 
to  prussic  acid;  one  drop  on  the  tongue  of  a  dog 
will  produce  death;  one  drop  evaporated  in  a 
room  holding  200  people  is  sufficiently  penetrat- 
ing to  drive  them  out  in  a  few  minutes. 

The  third  element  is  an  empyreumatic  oil 
obtained  also  by  heat.  A  drop  of  this  poison 
placed  on  the  tongue  of  a  cat  will  cause  horrible 
agony,  convulsions,  and  death  in  from  two  to 
four  minutes. 

These  three  chemical  substances  are  all  de- 
veloped in  smoking  either  a  cigar  or  a  pipe.  In 
the  residuum  of  a  pipe  long  used,  they  exist  in 
a  dark  brown  or  tanny  mass  of  offensive  matter. 
Think  of  it!  If  you  expel  a  mouthful  of  tobacco 
smoke  through  a  clean  white  handkerchief  you 
will  see,  where  it  passes  through  the  fabric  it 
makes  a  black  spot.  Examine  this  black  spot 
under  a  microscope  of  500  diameters,  and  you 
will  see  the  crystals  of  nicotine,  the  oil  globules, 
and  the  acid.  All  of  these  enter  the  mouth,  with 
the  smoke,  and  some  of  it  is  immediately  ab- 
sorbed, and  other  portions  of  it  after  a  time,  and 
in  this  manner  all  of  them  enter  the  circulatory 
system. 

Now,  if,  after  this  really  scientific  analysis  of 
the  poison  tobacco,  any  idiot  wishes  to  reduce  all 
his  powers,  intellectual  and  physical,  to  a  min- 
imum, why  this  is  "The  land  of  liberty."  See? 
Let  him.  But  don't  permit  him  to  blow  off  the 
poison  in  the  air  you  have  to  live  in.    See? 


CHAPTER  VI 

EFFICIENT  LONG  LIVES  AND  THE 
SECRETS  OF  LONGEVITY 

My  friends,  I  am  giving  you  history,  and  not 
speculation.  Neither  am  I  spinning  yarns  from 
my  own  inner  consciousness.  Hence,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  me  to  borrow  from  all  reliable  sources 
of  history  and  information.  So  I  now  start  in 
on  a  remarkable  store  of  information  prepared 
ready  for  my  hand  by  a  very  capable  woman,  a 
very  superior  thinker,  and  the  very  efficient 
Secretary  of  our  "Centenarian  Club,"  which 
really  owes  its  existence  to  her  wise  and  devoted 
management.  I  refer  to  Mrs.  Witter,  whose 
residence  is  953  N.  Figueroa  street,  Los  Angeles, 
Cal.  I  extract  from  her  journal  in  which  is 
written  an  account  of  a  birthday  celebration  for 
her  mother,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Howard: 

"Mrs.  J.  F.  Howard,  wife  of  Judge  Howard, 
celebrated  her  92nd  birthday  at  her  home,  953 
North  Figueroa  street,  recently,  having  as  her 
guests  members  of  the  Centenarian  Club.  Eleven 
of  the  fourteen  included  in  the  club  list,  were 
present  to  enjoy  her  hospitality. 

"These  included  the  president,  the  Rev.  S.  A. 
Taft,  who  is  92  years  of  age,  with  his  lady;  Dr. 
Peebles  (96  years)  ;  Senator  Cornelius  Cole  (95 
years),  and  his  wife;  Dr.  Prugh,  95;  S.  Sellec, 
94,  and  his  wife;  A.  Annas,  96  years;  Dr.  A.  M. 
Morrison  (97  years)  ;  C.  R.  Post  (91  years),  and 


7h  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

his  wife;  N.  A.  Millard,  91  years;  Mrs.  B.  Bartlet, 
92,  and  Mrs.  Howard,  the  hostess,  who  celebrated 
her  92nd  natal  day. 

The  following  are  the  lady  members  of  the 
Centenarian  Club,  with  the  date  of  each  one's 
birth :  Mrs.  Mary  K.  Bartlett,  159  South  Euclid 
avenue,  Pasadena,  Cal.,  Dec.  12,  1825 ;  Mrs.  J.  F. 
Howard,  953  North  Figueroa  street,  Los  Angeles, 
Cal.,  Dec.  2,  1825 ;  Mrs.  J.  M.  Vandergrift,  2619 
Lasalle  avenue,  Los  Angeles,  Cal,  March  26. 
1826;  Mrs.  G.  B.  Pease,  6804  Bonsallo  avenue. 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Sept.  16,  1827;  Mrs.  Eliza 
Griffith,  2915  Halldale  avenue,  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
April  6,  1825 ;  Mrs.  Mary  Eldridge,  Franklin  and 
Orange  streets,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Feb.  9,  1828; 
Mrs.  Susan  Cole,  306  Lake  street,  Pasadena,  Cal., 
April  5,  1827;  Mrs.  Eliza  McConnell,  810  East 
45th  street,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  March  1,  1826. 

There  is  a  Mrs.  Martha  Orr  Scott,  at  1144 
East  Eleventh  street,  Santa  Monica,  who  is  97. 

The  dates  of  birth  of  these  ladies  are  given 
so  that  no  accusation  of  camouflage  can  be 
brought  against  the  record.  And  say,  there  is 
nothing  of  the  so-called  "querulous  broken  heart- 
edness  of  old  age"  visible  in  them.  They  are  each 
a  center  of  radiant  happiness  and  cheerfulness. 

A  delightful  day  was  passed,  dinner  being 
served  by  the  host  and  hostess,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Witter,  Mrs.  Howard's  children.  There  were 
toasts,  music,  speaking  and  various  stunts  con- 
tributed by  the  guests. 

Cheers  and  good  wishes  were  extended  most 
heartily  by  the  thirty  friends  who  gathered  at 
the  festal  board,  for  the  continued  health  and 
prosperity  of  the  hostess. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  75 

Mrs.  M.  Bartlett,  another  centenarian,  will 
celebrate  her  93rd  birthday  Wednesday,  Decem- 
ber 12th,  at  her  Pasadena  home  with  the  club  as 
her  guests. 

Now,  gentle  reader,  there  is  not  much  sign  of 
"querulous,  broken-heartedness  of  old  age"  among 
the  hilarious  friends  who  met  to  celebrate  the 
birthday  of  Mrs.  Howard. 

Now  somebody  asks  me  why  I  am  writing 
this  book.  I  reply  to  break  and  bust  the  idiotic 
Psychology  that  age  brings  all  miserableness,  and 
is  the  grave  of  all  enjoyment  and  achievement. 
See.  The  great  Dr.  Osier  said  that  every  person 
reaching  60  years  should  be  chloroformed.  But, 
say,  the  Doctor  didn't  take  his  own  medicine. 
Say,  my  friends,  don't  please  associate  age  and 
imbecility.  Please.  And  don't  accept  the  Psy- 
chology that  its  approach  is  the  termination  of 
achievement,  and  its  presence  the  relegation  of 
you  to  the  rot-heap. 

I  would  rather  join  with  Browning  in  his 
optimist  invitation  which  very  efficiently  explodes 
all  the  absurdities  which  science,  and  medicine, 
and  philosophy  have  launched  against  age: 


GROW  OLD  WITH  ME 

Grow  old  along  with  me ! 

The  best  is  yet  to  be; 
The  last  of  life,  for  which  the  first  was  made ; 

Our  times  are  in  his  hand, 

Who  saith:   A  whole  is  planned, 
Youth  shows  but  half;  trust  God; 

See  all,  be  not  afraid. 


76  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

Thy  thoughts  and  feelings  shall  not  die, 
Nor  leave  thee  when  gray  hairs  are  nigh; 

A  melancholy  slave; 
But  an  old  age  serene  and  bright, 
And  lovely  as  a  Lapland  night, 

Shall  lead  thee  to  thy  grave. 


Now  I  introduce  you  to  the  topnotcher;  and 
say,  there  is  no  camouflage  in  this  either.  I  am 
extracting  from  the  ASSOCIATED  PRESS: 

"Lexington,  Ky.,  September  3rd.  John  Shell, 
said  to  be  the  oldest  living  man  in  the  United 
States,  today  celebrated  the  131st  anniversary  of 
his  birth  here. 

The  aged  mountaineer  celebrated  by  taking 
his  first  automobile  ride.  He  said  this  was  the 
first  birthday  on  which  he  did  not  work,  and  that 
he  was  anxious  to  get  back  to  his  farm,  on  which 
there  is  a  mortgage. 

His  oldest  child  is  a  90  kiddie. 

Shell  does  not  expect  to  see  another  birthday. 
"I  am  getting  old  now,"  was  his  explanation. 

Shell  is  exhibiting  himself  at  a  fair  here,  and 
will  use  the  money  derived  in  paying  off  the 
mortgage,  he  said. 

Shell  was  first  married  at  the  age  of  19,  and 
lived  with  his  first  wife  for  more  than  ninety 
years.  He  lived  seventy-five  years  in  one  house. 
He  is  the  father  of  twenty-nine  children,  the 
oldest  now  being  more  than  90  years  of  age.  Say 
now  what  do  you  think  of  the  "Feelosofers"  who 
pooh,  pooh  at  heredity,  and  tell  us  there  is  noth- 
ing in  it?  Eh?  Don't  you  think  they  are  "off en 
their  nut?"    Honest  now,  don't  you? 

I  feel  prompted  to  butt  in  here  a  little  with 
a  suggestion  that  comes  to  me  as   I  copy  the 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  77 

record.  Shell  married  at  19;  very  young,  you 
say.  Ya,  my  friend,  very  young ;  but  say,  it  saved 
him  from  the  damnable  debauchery  of  promis- 
cuous carnality  which  is  the  real  cause  of  all  our 
wickedness,  imbecilities,  and  the  creators  of  the 
Hell  that  this  earth  has  developed. 

AND  HE  DOES  NOT  LOOK  HIS  AGE  A  BIT ! ! 

Six  years  ago  he  married  again  at  the  age  of 
125!!  By  his  second  wife  he  has  one  child,  a 
boy  aged  5  years. 

He  was  74  during  the  Civil  War.  He  was 
born  near  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  and  was  full  grown 
when  the  war  of  1812  began. 

He  bears  his  age  well.  His  mind  is  clear,  and 
his  eyesight  is  far  better  than  that  of  many  men 
still  in  their  youth. 

Now  here  is  another  extract  about  Mr.  Shell 
from  the  Associated  Press,  dated  July  29,  1919: 
"Louisville,  July  29.  The  National  Geographic 
Society  has  been  asked  to  investigate  the  claim 
of  John  Shell,  a  mountaineer  of  Leslie  County, 
Kentucky,  that  he  is  130  years  old.  Shell's  neigh- 
bors corroborate  the  statement  concerning  his 
age.    Shell  has  nine  children. 

He  says  the  oldest  is  90  years  old.  He  is  said 
to  have  200  descendants  in  his  home  section^ 
several  being  great-great-grandchildren. 

The  mountaineer,  who  claims  excellent  eye- 
sight, steady  nerves,  and  general  good  health, 
attributes  his  long  life  to  outdoor  living  and 
temperate  habits. 

My  readers  will  please  notice  that  I  am  quot- 
ing from  actual  history,  and  introducing  no 
guesses  of  my  own.  The  very  accomplished,  and 
very  capable  Secretary  of  the  Centenarian  Club, 
has  supplied  me  with  a  mass  of  clippings  from 
which  I  am  making  extracts.    I  have  also  three 


78  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

large  scrap  books  full  of  such  clippings  of  my 
own  selection.  I  make  no  guessing  in  this  book: 
"Efficiency  of  Life  at  100  Years,  and  Over." 

Now  I  give  you  from  the  same  lady  a  true 
account  of  the  achievements  of  the  most  wonder- 
ful, strenuous  life,  and  superhuman  accomplish- 
ments of  the  most  brilliant,  and  superhumanly 
endowed  man  that  has  ever  existed  on  this  planet 
in  any  clime,  or  period  of  its  marvellous  existence. 
I  refer  to  Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles,  Honorable  President 
of  our  Centenarian  Club. 

James  Martin  Peebles  was  born  March  23, 
1822,  at  the  old  homestead  in  Whittingham,  Ver- 
mont. He  was  the  oldest  surviving  child  of  a 
family  of  seven  children.  James  was  not  more 
than  6  years  old  when  he  went  to  school  to  his 
uncle,  Dr.  Corbitt  Peebles.  Being  active  and 
restless  and  willing  to  amuse  his  playmate,  he 
received  many  reprimands. 

After  finishing  school,  at  the  age  of  16  he 
taught  his  first  school. 

His  parents  moved  to  Smithville,  Chenango 
County,  New  York.  Here,  under  the  tuition  of 
Prof.  Hulburt,  he  was  cured  of  stammering,  which 
was  a  great  joy  to  him,  and  caused  a  rapid  de- 
velopment of  his  natural  exuberance. 

He  taught  at  Upper  Lisle,  N.  Y.,  for  several 
terms,  and  attended  Oxford  Academy  in  1842. 
He  also  included  medicine  among  his  other  studies 
and  graduated  from  the  Philadelphia  University 
of  Medicine  and  Surgery. 

James  was  a  constant  attendant  of  the  Uni- 
versalist  Church,  studied  for  the  ministry,  and 
preached  his  first  sermon  in  McLean,  N.  Y.  He 
was  made  the  pastor,  and  remained  there  five 
years. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  79 

Then  at  Kellogsville  three  years.  In  1853  and 
1855  he  was  pastor  at  Elmira,  N.  Y.  In  1850  he 
married  Mary  McConky,  a  teacher  in  the  Clinton 
Liberal  Schools  Institute.  Three  chlidren  died 
in  infancy. 

In  1856  he  resigned  the  pulpit  and  went  to 
Battle  Creek,  Mich.,  where  he  founded  a  Sana- 
tarium,  based  on  the  "Nature  Cure,"  and  was 
very  successful,  but  after  about  four  years  of 
labor  his  own  health  gave  way  and,  on  New  Year's 
day,  1860,  he  sailed  from  New  York  on  steamer 
ArieL  via  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  landed  in  San 
Francisco  March  25,  1861. 

To  him,  this  was  a  new  world,  for  the  western 
coast  is  entirely  unlike  the  eastern.  The  free- 
dom and  independence  of  the  western  coast  is 
unknown  in  the  eastern. 

After  a  year  and  a  half  in  California  he  re- 
turned to  Battle  Creek,  Mich.  In  1867,  aged  45, 
Dr.  Peebles  had  been  in  Battle  Creek  six  years, 
and  had  lectured  in  every  State  of  the  Union  save 
three. 

In  1867  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Peebles  moved  to  Ham- 
mington,  New  Jersey. 

In  1866  he  was  editor  of  the  Banner  of  Light, 
and  wrote  several  books. 

The  Doctor  has  held  very  important  pro-con- 
sular positions  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
He  has  made  five  journeys  round  the  world.  He 
has  written  a  library,  which  if  a  man  will  read 
and  digest,  he  will  know  everything  knowable  on 
earth  or  in  the  Universe.  With  the  Bible,  and 
Peebles'  books,  no  man  needs  any  other  teaching 
to  become  possessed  of  all  truth,  social,  political, 
scientific,  and  religious,  that  is  possible  for  man 
to  know  in  this  "Karma!" 


80  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

And  yet,  with  all  this  wonderful  achievement, 
the  good  and  great  Doctor  has  had  his  reverses 
and  disappointments.  In  1892  he  purchased  a 
sanitarium  in  San  Antonio,  Tex.  While  the  Doc- 
tor was  absent  this  fine  structure  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  His  magnificent  library  and  treasures 
of  art  perished  in  the  flames.  The  loss  amounted 
to  about  $50,000,  and  he  was  now  72  years  of  age. 
Rather  a  tough  experience  to  attack  a  man  at  72, 
now  don't  you* think  so?  Eh?  Yet  the  good 
Doctor,  unhorsed,  but  not  conquered,  started  in 
again.  See?  I  think  he  is  a  wonderful  example 
of  the  power  of  Faith.  Now  I  don't  mean  meta- 
physical or  speculative  faith.  I  mean  the  real, 
genuine  thing  which  holds  on  where  it  cannot 
see,  and  accomplishes  the  apparently  impossible. 

Now  we  will  allow  Dr.  Peebles  himself  to  tell 
us  "how  he  did  it." 

"My  age  is  the  result  of  my  unbounded  faith 
in  God,  in  the  Eternal  Christ  of  God;  in  the 
ministry  of  Angels,  and  in  the  brotherhood  of 
humanity;  together  with  a  persistent  will  power, 
determined  life  purposes,  constant  cheerfulness, 
frequent  bathing,  deep  breathing,  vigorous  mental 
and  physical  activities,  and  the  strict  avoidance 
of  animal  flesh  eating,  tobacco,  and  such  stim- 
ulants as  liquors,  wine,  tea,  and  coffee." 

Now  I  think  this  is  a  good  place  to  record  the 
testimony  of  twelve  Centenarians  who,  at  their 
meeting  tell  how  to  live  100  years.  This  is  the 
testimony  of  the  men  who  have  done  it  Hence, 
there  is  no  philosophical  speculation  about  it. 
Nor  is  there  any  speculative  dreaming.  I  quote 
from  the  Newspaper  reporter. 

"How  to  live  a  century,  and  grow  old  grace- 
fully," the  motto  of  the  Southern  California  Cen- 
tenarian Club,  was  told  yesterday  afternoon  by 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  81 

twelve  members  of  the  organization,  in  a  meet- 
ing at  Christophers,  551  South  Broadway,  Los 
Angeles. 

All  agreed  that  Faith  in  God  is  a  vital  prin- 
ciple involved,  and  different  groups  agreed  on 
other  things;  but  it  was  evident  from  the  indi- 
vidual testimony  of  the  members,  each  of  whom 
is  90,  or  more,  that  one  may  grow  old  gracefully, 
and  either  use  tobaccoo,  or  shun  it;  taboo  intox- 
icants or  take  a  little  wine  for  his  stomach's  sake ; 
eat  meat,  or  subsist  wholly  on  a  vegetable  regi- 
men ;  forget  the  past,  or  indulge  in  reminiscences ; 
or  do,  or  not  do  quite  a  number  of  other  things, 
without  forfeiting  the  probability  of  attaining 
the  Century  mark." 

REV.  DAVID  J.  HIGGINS:  "To  be  well 
born  is  the  first  essential.  If  not,  take  a  firm 
grip  upon  your  own  life.  Keep  your  body  clean, 
if  you  want  a  clean  mind  ,and  a  clean  soul. 

Adopt  a  healthful  diet,  and  be  master  of  your 
appetite.  Take  as  much  care  of  your  mind,  and 
soul,  as  of  your  body.  Keep  your  mind  active. 
Feed  it  with  high  thoughts.  Forget  the  past. 
Practice  the  presence  of  God.    Never  say  die." 

Dr.  Andrew  M.  Morrison:  "Laughing  has 
been  the  chief  cause  of  my  present  age.  I  read 
in  the  Bible  that  the  Almighty  sometimes  laughed. 
If  possible,  choose  your  parentage. 

Revere  woman,  and  respect  her.  Work  hard. 
Never  eat  two  starches,  or  two  proteids  at  the 
same  meal.  Eat  only  one  of  each  at  one  meal. 
And  say,  don't  eat  the  last  bite.  Just  leave  a 
little  space  unfilled.     Hear  me." 

Cornelius  Cole:  "The  Southern  California 
climate  is  of  great  importance.  In  my  own  case, 
my  early  belief  in  living  a  regular  life  had  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  it.    But  about  this  climate : 


82  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

I  remember  old  Juan  Moreno,  who  used  to  live 
down  where  Santa  Monica  is  now.  He  was  112 
when  he  came  to  the  city,  where  the  excesses  of 
urban  existence  shortened  his  life." 

W.  C.  Hindman:  "I  never  have  gambled, 
caroused,  or  drank.  I  have  been  careful  about 
my  diet.  I  never  eat  a  hearty  supper,  and  im- 
mediately* go  to  bed.  I  have  obeyed  the  dictates 
of  my  conscience.  I  have  allied  myself  neither 
with  the  Church,  nor  with  Fraternal  Orders.  I 
stand  on  my  own  opinion.  I  haven't  taken  med- 
icine for  eight  years.  Then  I  was  in  an  accident, 
and  lost  my  sight.    Now  my  sight  is  returning.,, 

REV.  STEPHEN  TAFT,  (90  years)  :  "My 
mother's  teachings  were  my  greatest  blessings. 
She  pledged  me  to  sobriety,  and  to  treat  all  girls 
as  I  would  want  other  young  men  to  treat  my 
sisters.  , 

I  early  promised  God  that  the  purpose  of  my 
life  would  be  to  make  the  world  better.  I  thought 
of  troubles  and  sorrows  only  as  long  as  I  could 
get  benefit  from  them.  I  owe  my  age  to  giving 
myself  up  to  the  service  of  man,  and  God — it  has 
made  my  life  rich." 

NEVER  WORRIES;  EATS  POTATOES 
MRS.  J.  F.  HOWARD,  (91)  :  "I  have  always 
enjoyed  good  health,  excepting  one  hard  sickness. 
I  can  eat  nearly  everything  in  the  vegetable  line, 
and  am  particularly  fond  of  Irish  potatoes.  I 
drink  very  little  tea  and  coffee — generally  hot 
water.  I  have  had  some  sorrow  and  trouble,  but 
never  believed  in  worry." 

HE  NEVER  SOWED  HIS  WILD  OATS 
Testimony  of  REV.  P.  C.  PRUGH,  (93) :     "I 
attribute  my  long  life  to  my  parents.    As  a  child 
they  gave  me  to  the  Lord  in  baptism.     I  have 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  83 

never  sowed  my  wild  oats.  I  have  a  good  stomach. 
I  took  the  Teetotaler's  pledge  at  the  age  of  16. 
I  never  use  tobacco.  I  have  tried  to  be  like  my 
Father.  I  have  lived  a  great  deal  in  the  past. 
I  have  kept  the  ten  commandments." 

MAKING  OTHERS  HAPPY,  HIS  JOY 
STURGES  SELLECK  (93)  :  "My  advanced 
age  is  due,  I  think,  chiefly  to  my  ancestors  who 
were  healthy,  with  no  hereditary  disease  to 
shorten  life.  I  have  led  a  quiet  domestic  life,  kept 
regular  habits;  ate  whatever  I  wanted,  and 
digested  whatever  I  ate.  My  greatest  delight  is 
to  make  others  happy,  and  by  so  doing,  increase 
my  own  happiness.  I  never  worry,  and  I  sleep 
all  night." 

WAS  WELL  BORN  AND  WELL  REARED 
JAS.  P.  GALICK,  (91) :  "I  give  chief  credit 
for  my  longevity  to  the  fact  that  I  was  well  born, 
and  well  reared.  I  have  been  temperate  in  all 
things,  never  having  indulged  in  intoxicants  or 
tobacco.  But  I  have  eaten  my  three  square  meals 
a  day.  I  always  sleep  well.  I  have  been  honest 
in  all  my  dealings,  have  lived  a  clean,  wholesome 
and  happy  life,  and  am  at  peace  with  the  world." 

HE  NEVER  ABUSED  A  GOOD  STOMACH 
A.  A.  ANNIS,  (95) :  "Milk,  and  fresh  air,  and 
coarse  bread  for  me.  I  never  use  liquor  or  to- 
bacco. I  was  born  with  a  good  stomach,  which 
has  much  to  do  with  long  life,  and  I  have  never 
abused  that  stomach  since  I  was  a  boy,  and  ate 
green  apples.  I  like  to  walk  a  great  deal.  My 
life  has  been  even." 

J.  H.  F.  JARCHOW:  "Climate  and  fresh  air 
have  much  to  do  with  living  long.  Never  over- 
eat.    Never  overwork.     Follow  the  golden  rule. 


SU  .  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

I  do  not  eat  meat,  but  I  smoke  if  I  want  to,  and 
I  take  a  little  wine,  and  beer  if  I  desire  them,  but 
I  never  get  drunk.  I  tried  milk,  but  it  didn't 
agree  with  me." 

After  each  number  had  voiced  his  opinion  on 
Longevity,  and  the  aids  thereto  a  vote  was  taken 
on  several  matters.  Tobacco  was  opposed  by 
eleven,  and  favored  by  one.  Intoxicants  were 
frowned  upon,  while  a  little  wine  or  beer  received 
the  support  of  one.  Seven  favored  coffee  and 
tea,  while  five  opposed  them.  Five  favored  meat, 
and  seven  voted  against  it.  On  deep  breathing 
one  voted  favorably,  while  the  others  voiced 
sentiments  for  breathing  "naturally." 

The  vote  was  unanimous  for  "not  worrying" 
but  trusting  in  God  for  mental  and  physical 
activity,  and  for  the  climate  of  Southern  Cali- 
fornia. 

Now,  gentle  reader,  I  have  given  you  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  testimony  from  the  mouths  of  men 
and  women  still  in  the  flesh  who  have  accom- 
plished the  supposed  impossible  feat  of  living 
100  years  in  the  enjoyment  of  health,  and  vital 
power.  I  do  this  to  destroy  the  Psychology  whose 
hypnotic  falsehood  has  associated  mental  and 
physical  degeneration  with  years.  Don't  you  do 
it,  my  son  and  daughter.  Remember  that  as  a 
man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he. 

Now  having  given  you  the  opinions  and  prac- 
tices of  so  many  Centenarians,  I  will  proceed  to 
lay  before  you  the  science  of  Longevity,  which 
I  elaborated  for  myself.  But  first  I  think  good 
to  present  to  you  a  Newspaper  graviture  of  my 
modest  self.  The  article  was  published  in  "The 
Los  Angeles  Record,"  and  is  from  the  pen  of 
that  encyclopedia  of  wisdom,  Cynthia  Grey. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  85 

Now  here  it  is.  It  is  headed  by  a  picture  of 
my  juvenile  self  arrayed  in  official  garments  as 
Bishop,  and  adorned  with  all  the  mysteries  of 
modern  art.  "If  you  would  like  to  be  99,  hale, 
hearty,  and  happy — 

"Never  eat  more  than  two  kinds  of  food  at 
a  time.  Make  no  "never  minds"  if  your  supper 
is  entirely  a  minus  quantity.  Sleep  nine  hours 
in  every  twenty-four.  Keep  the  wrinkles  out  of 
your  soul,  and  your  face  will  stay  smooth.  Work 
ten  or  twelve  hours  a  day,  and  walk  as  much  as 
shoe  leather  will  permit.  If  you  have  any  choice, 
be  born  and  bred  in  a  mud  hut,  where  oatmeal 
porridge  abounds,  rather  than  in  a  home  where 
varieties  of  food  stare  you  out  of  countenance 
every  time  you  sit  down  to  table.  Behave  your- 
self." Something  very  much  like  this  only  in 
his  own  witty  Irish  mode  is  the  menu  Dr.  Andrew 
M.  Morrison  gives  for  the  99-year-old  program. 

Who  is  he?  What  is  he?  The  epitome  of 
self  which  he  writes  under  his  photo,  when  pre- 
senting to  friends  is  this:  "Andrew  Malcolm 
Morrison,  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  Faith,  Chap- 
lain Home  Guards,  Half  Century  Association, 
author,  lecturer,  preacher,  IRISH!  Born  June 
4,  1820.  He  is  neither  wheezy,  nor  short  stepped, 
and  is  going  in  for  150  years." 

"There's  nothing  in  the  trick  of  living,"  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Morrison,  "except  living  right." 

Not  to  know  the  meaning  of  age  when  most 
folks  are  mouldering  in  their  graves,  is  just  the 
natural  result  of  knowing  how  not  to  eat.  "I  can 
walk  25  miles  today,"  said  Dr.  Morrison,  "with- 
out fatigue.  I  can  do  ten  or  twelve  hours  mental 
work  without  any  inconvenience  to  myself.  If 
I  were  giving  rules  of  longevity  I  would  say: 
Be   careful   what   you   put   into    your   stomach. 


86  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

Don't  eat  more  than  two  kinds  of  food  at  a  meal. 
Make  supper  the  unimportant  meal  of  the  day. 
Here  is  a  sample  of  one  day's  menu  in  Dr.  Mor- 
rison's home:  Breakfast:  Dish  of  oatmeal  por- 
ridge; then  piece  of  bread  and  butter;  cup  of 
cocoa,  or  coffee,  as  suits  the  whim.  Dinner :  12 
o'clock,  or  thereabouts;  cup  of  buttermilk,  Irish 
potatoes,  baked,  and  any  other  vegetable  desired, 
raw ;  fruit  of  all  kinds  and  every  kind,  as  selected. 
Supper:  Cup  of  cocoa  or  buttermilk,  and  a  slice 
of  bread  and  butter.  "I  usually  retire  about 
10:30,"  explains  Dr.  Morrison.  "I  sleep  without 
turning  till  7 :30.  Sleep  is  the  greatest  rejuvenator 
in  the  world." 

"I  cannot  lay  too  much  emphasis  on  the  neces- 
sity of  people  eating  carefully,  and  frugally. 
Most  of  the  wickedness  in  the  world  comes  from 
people  stuffing  their  stomachs  with  poisons. 
When  I  was  a  youngster  I  lived  as  one  of  a 
large  family  in  a  peasant  home.  We  had  oatmeal 
porridge  and  a  pint  of  buttermilk  for  breakfast; 
Irish  potatoes  and  buttermilk  for  dinner,  with 
some  garden  vegetable  and  fruit;  Irish  porridge 
and  buttermilk  for  supper,  day  in  and  day  out. 
It  wasn't  what  we  wanted,  but  it  was  all  we 
could  have.  And  it  made  us  clean  and  strong." 
Dr.  Morrison  is  as  active  now  as  he  ever  was. 
He  has  recently  issued  a  magazine.  He  writes 
for  periodicals.  He  takes  an  active  part  in  the 
Half  Century  Association.  "I  am  going  in  for 
150  years,"  he  often  says.  "And  as  I  don't  know 
what  age  means,  I  don't  see  anything  to  stop  me 
reaching  it."  Seeing,  and  talking  with  Dr.  Mor- 
rison is  like  scenting  a  breath  of  old-time  gal- 
lantry, and  sighting  a  vision  of  the  perennial 
spring  of  youth."  Ha,  ha!  Say,  now  honest, 
isn't  that  good  for  Cynthia?     And  now  to  my 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  87 

own  summing  up,  and  arrangement  of  the  scien- 
tific principles  and  practices  by  which  life  is  con- 
served and  prolonged  on  earth,  recognizing  the 
inexplicable  law,  that  life  is  indestructible,  I 
shall  so  do  under  the  heading,  RUACH  KAIYIM. 
The  Hebrew  terms,  mean  Spirit  of  Life. 

And  now,  before  presenting  my  own  sum- 
ming up  of  what  I  consider  the  laws  of  Longevity, 
I  present  you  with  the  "topnotcher."  I  quote 
from  the  Los  Angeles  Daily  Times  of  May  16th, 
1921 :  "Aged  Turk  is  still  healthy.  Human  Pack 
Horse  is  147  years  old.  Has  always  been  carrier 
of  heavy  weights.  Attributes  Long  Life  to  hard 
work,  proper  diet,  etc." 

Constantinople,  April  28th,  1921.  "ZORA, 
'the  human  pack  horse/  who  claims  to  be  147 
years  old,  and  still  can  carry  200  pounds  with 
ease,  attributes  his  long  life  and  health  to  hard 
work  and  proper  diet.  He  has  always  been  a 
carrier  of  heavy  weights. 

His  rules  of  health  are:  Hard  work,  sleep, 
cold  baths  at  night,  no  tobacco,  no  alcohol,  no 
coffee,  no  meat,  no  oils,  no  butter,  no  drinking 
water,  but  plenty  of  honey,  hot  tea,  sugar,  cakes, 
bread  and  cheese,  particularly  buttermilk,  or 
clabber.  Every  five  years  he  takes  a  three 
months'  rest  in  his  native  home  in  the  country. 

Whatever  his  age,  Zora  is  a  picture  of  health 
and  physical  vigor;  mentally  alert,  benign,  and 
frequently  blessing  the  curious  American  sailors 
who  visit  him  at  his  favorite  cafe  on  the  Galata 
water  front. 

He  is  5  feet.  10  inches  tall,  deep  breasted,  and 
has  the  carriage  of  a  sheik.  He  is  almost  bald; 
his  face  is  long,  and  covered  with  a  shiny  nut- 
brown  skin. 


88  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

His  eyesight  and  memory  are  good,  and  he 
recalls  the  days  when  the  first  steamship  came 
to  Constantinople.  He  says  he  worked  as  a 
peasant  at  Bitlis  until  the  age  of  37,  when  he 
went  to  Constantinople  to  work  at  the  Turkish 
Arsenal,  and  that  he  worked  there  for  years. 

Zora  has  been  married  four  times.  All  of 
his  wives  are  dead,  and  all  of  his  children  but 
two.  His  son,  Osman,  aged  97,  being  in  poor 
health,  recently  returned  to  Bitlis.  His  daughter, 
Gouli  Hanem,  aged  60,  is  married,  and  healthy. 
Zora's  father  died  at  the  age  of  76,  and  his  mother 
at  the  age  of  83. 

Zora  isn't  rich,  because  of  so  many  expenses 
in  caring  for  his  family.  He  lives  in  a  Kurd 
Khan,  where  he  pays  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  month 
for  a  place  to  sleep,  and  for  hot  water  to  make 
his  tea!"  Well,  I  swan.  Wish  I  was  thar. 
America  has  developed  the  Profiteer  so  that  life 
for  a  poor  man  is  impossible,  "da  ye  see,  ma 
frens?" 

"What  I  want  is  work,"  declared  Zora.  "Idle- 
ness will  ruin  my  health.  I'll  pray  all  my  life 
for  him  who  giveth  me  work.  Health,  happiness 
and  wisdom  come  from  work  only." 


CHAPTER  VII 
RUACH  KAIYIM 

(SPIRIT  OF  LIFE) 

The  Patriarchs  were  dashing  young  fellows 
during  periods  of  life  measuring  several  *  cen- 
turies. But  now  the  years  of  human  life  are 
limited  to  a  few  dozen.  Whence  the  change?  It 
cannot  be  attributed  to  the  Fall,  as  the  "Fall," 
so-called,  happened  in  Eden,  and  the  Patriarchs 
did  not  appear  on  the  scene  till  long  after  that 
catastrophe  "brought  death  into  the  world,  and 
all  our  woe."  It  cannot  be  attributed  to  any 
change  in  the  constitution  of  man,  for  those  gay 
young  centenarians  ate  and  drank,  slept  and 
worked,  loved  and  hated  just  as  we  do.  If  the 
record  of  their  years  is  true  there  is  certainly  a 
mighty  falling  off  in  the  ability  of  man  to  retain 
possession  of  his  outer  earthly  casing,  commonly 
called  the  body. 

Now  we  are  not  of  those  who  defy  death,  yet 
die  all  the  same.  We  think  it  good  that  the  car- 
cass should  be  cast  off  some  time,  but  we  do  say 
that  it  might  be  kept  in  good  working  order  dur- 
ing 100  years  or  more.  We  believe  that  100 
years  is  a  fair  average  of  human  earthly  life, 
and  believe  that  this  average  can  be  easily  at- 
tained by  the  average  citizen.  Of  course  we 
exclude  Mahatmas  and  Adepts  and  the  "I  am's" 
who  "galifugle"  along  during  thousands  of  years, 
and  have  no  occupation,  neither  the  comfort  of 
intercourse   and   a   neighborly   chat   with   their 


90  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

friends.  They  are  too  uncanny  for  every-day 
business — but  that  the  ordinary  citizen  might 
enjoy  life  to  100  years  is,  in  our  opinion,  easily 
possible  and  to  "shuffle  off  this  mortal  coil"  before 
that  time  is  really  reprehensible. 

We  will  in  these  few  pages  reveal  the  secret 
of  how  it  may  be  done,  and  if  this  secret  is  faith- 
fully lived  universally,  a  few  generations  will  not 
find  any  who  has  not  filled  his  days.  "There  shall 
be  no  more  thence  an  infant  of  days  nor  an  old 
man  that  hath  not  filled  his  days:  for  the  child 
shall  die  an  hundred  years  old;  but  the  sinner 
being  an  hundred  years  old  shall  be  accursed." 
Isa.  65:20. 

BODY  BUILDING 

Every  man  builds  his  own  body,  just  as  every 
house  is  builded  by  some  man,  but  he  that  built 
all  things  is  God.  Now  there  are  some  very 
wretched  houses.  These  demonstrate  the  un- 
skilled carpenter.  There  are,  without  question, 
some  very  wretched  bodies.  These  demonstrate 
the  ignorant  botchery  in  body  building  of  their 
owners.  And  altho  God  built  all  things  he  is  in 
no  degree  responsible  for  the  caricatures  pro- 
duced by  his  employes.  He  supplies  perfect  ma- 
terials. The  "awkward  squad"  using  them 
produce  an  "eye-sore"  where  there  should  be  a 
thing  of  beauty.  God  in  the  future  must  be 
relieved  of  the  responsibility  of  having  directly 
produced  the  mis-shapen  organizations  of  men 
and  the  wasp-waist  woman,  as  well  as  the  "self- 
made"  man.  Every  man  is  his  own  body-builder 
and  must  select  his  own  materials  for  the  work. 
Now  let  us  help  you  in  the  selection  of  material 
and  also  give  you  a  little  instruction  as  to  how 
to  use  the  material  when  selected.  Now  remem- 
bering that  man  is  a  tripartite  organization,  con- 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  91 

sisting  of  a  body,  soul  and  spirit,  let  us  examine 
the  materials  for  building  and  sustaining  the 
structure.  The  most  important  and  essential  of 
these  is 

BREATH 

Inspiration  is  breathing  in.  Without  this 
inspiration  life  cannot  manifest  itself  on  the 
physical  plane.  Hence  in  breath  there  is  spirit 
which  sustains  the  spirit.  Also  there  is  material 
which  builds  up  the  body,  and  this  material  which 
builds  up  the  body  is  modified  and  deposited  ac- 
cording to  the  intelligence  of  the  spirit  which 
controls  it  and  which  is  the  real  body  builder,  for 
the  spirit  builds  and  takes  care  of  its  own  house. 

The  first  mention  we  have  of  life  declares 
that  it  is  breath.  "And  the  Lord  God  formed 
man  out  of  the  dust  of  the  ground  and  breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  be- 
came a  living  soul."  Gen.  2:7.  By  the  word  of 
the  Lord  were  the  heavens  made;  and  all  the 
host  of  them  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth.  Psal. 
33. 

And  when  he  had  said  this  he  breathed  on 
them  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost.  John  20 :22. 

Few  people  know  how  to  breathe,  fewer  still 
put  their  knowledge  to  daily  practice.  And  yet 
on  breathing  depends,  in  large  measure,  the 
health,  strength  and  purity  of  the  whole  man, 
body,  soul  and  spirit.  Length  of  days,  freedom 
from  disease,  and  spiritual  inspiration  are  the 
rewards  of  the  faithful  practice  of  right  breath- 
ing. 

The  breath,  besides  spirit,  contains  oxygen, 
which  is  the  great  sustainer  of  animal  life  and 
the  great  purifier.  The  oxygen  burns  up  all  the 
impurities  in  the  blood  which  in  the  lungs  are 


92  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

exposed  to  the  inbreathed  air  for  this  very  pur- 
pose. No  blood  purifier  is  equal  to  oxygen. 
Therefore  use  plenty  of  it. 

Now  you  need  practical  instructions  in  breath- 
ing, and  here  they  are: 

1st.  In  the  morning  sit  down  quietly  facing 
the  east.  Rest  your  hands  quietly  on  your  knee, 
close  the  lips,  and  through  the  nostrils  draw  in 
the  breath  slowly  until  the  lungs  are  well  inflated. 
Hold  it  there  for  a  short  time  and  then  slowly 
exhale.    At  one  sitting  do  this  say  a  dozen  times. 

2nd.  When  through  with  this  exercise  stiffen 
each  muscle  of  your  body  as  you  see  a  cat  do 
when  she  stretches  herself. 

3rd.  Take  a  full  breath  and  hold  it,  then  by 
rapid  contraction  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  force 
this  compressed  air  into  all  the  interior  organs. 
You  thus  strengthen  and  purify  all  the  organs 
in  the  abdominal  and  pelvic  cavities  and  they  will 
last  and  perform  their  duties  many  years  longer 
than  if  you  neglect  these  exercises. 

Perform  all  these  exercises  at  least  three  times 
daily.  If  you  do,  you  will  have  no  lung,  no  liver, 
no  kidney  troubles  and  wont  need  a  solitary  dose 
either  of  Pink  Pills  or  Swamp  Root.  Frequently 
during  the  day  take  a  full  breath. 

4th.  While  sitting  breathing,  connect  your- 
self with  God  by  such  a  mental  expression  as 
this,  "God  breathes  into  me  the  breath  of  Life. 
I  am  inhaling  abundant  life,  my  inheritance  from 
my  Father's  limitless  bounty."  Any  such  expres- 
sion as  will  cause  you  to  realize  God's  presence, 
love  and  power. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  you  that  this 
air  in  which  you  perform  your  breathing  exer- 
cises will  undoubtedly  cure  any  case  of  consump- 
tion in  the  first  stage,  and  any  case  of  asthma, 
or  bronchitis. 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  93 

THE  SKIN 

Is  not  the  least  important  organ  of  the  man. 
It  works  like  the  other  organs  by  action  of  the 
spirit.  It  is  both  an  absorbing  and  excreting 
organ.  It  absorbs  material  from  the  air  out  of 
which  the  spirit  works  up  structure.  It  excretes 
the  used  up  material,  and  casts  out  the  ashes  of 
life's  furnaces  so  that  injurious  and  poisonous 
matter  may  not  accumulate  in  the  body  and  pro- 
duce disease.  It  is  a  most  important  organ  and 
needs  to  be  kept  in  good  working  order. 

In  an  average  sized  man  there  are  about 
2,500,000  little  tubes  in  the  skin  called  pores. 
These  are  the  outlets  for  the  poisonous  exudates 
which  are  being  continually  formed  in  the  pro- 
cess of  building.  It  is  manifest  that  we  must 
see  that  nothing  hinders  these  little  busy  workers ; 
as  they  are  sewers  to  run  off  very  poisonous  filth. 
We  must  then  keep  the  skin  not  only  clean,  but 
also  in  good  working  order.  To  do  this  a  good 
rough  rubbing  first,  a  sponge  (cold)  next,  and 
the  active  use  of  the  rough  towel  night  and  morn- 
ing is  the  best  general  skin  exercise.  The  sweat 
bath  is  useful — at  times.  The  long  bath  seldom, 
but  the  nude  body  should  be  exposed  for  at  least 
half  an  hour  weekly  to  the  action  of  sun  and  air. 
These  are  the  best  skin  stimulants.  Nothing 
better  to  stimulate  and  keep  the  skin  in  order 
than  a  minute  or  two  of  the  short  forced  com- 
pressed air  breathing  as  described  in  "breathing." 
Try  it  and  see  if  you  don't  soon  start  a  sensible 
perspiration. 

PHYSICAL  EXERCISE 

If  you  work  you  don't  need  any  special  exer- 
cise. As  a  general  exercise  there  is  nothing 
better  than  walking.  I  am  writing  for  ordinary 
mankind,  not  for  "freaks"  or  athletes. 


94  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

FOOD 

Out  of  the  food  we  eat  the  spirit  takes  up 
certain  elements  out  of  which  to  build  up  soul 
and  body.  We  should  therefore  present  the  best 
materials  to  the  invisible  worker  that  he  may- 
be able  to  erect  the  best  structure.  It  is  not 
possible,  having  regard  to  the  infinite  variety  in 
nature  to  lay  down  anything  like  a  general  class- 
ification of  what  kind  of  food  is  "wholesome"  or 
not.  One  eateth  herbs.  Let  every  man  be  fully 
persuaded  in  his  own  mind,  and  there  is  a  very 
strong  probability  that  each  will  instinctively 
select  the  best  dietary  for  himself.  Personally  I 
don't  think  meat  the  best  food — especially  the 
hog.  The  first  food  given  to  man  was  the  green 
herb,  and  fruit,  etc.  This  seemed  to  support  life 
pretty  well.  The  starvelings,  fed  thusly,  lived 
in  vigorous  health  up  to  pretty  near  the  thousand 
mile  stone.  That  they  were  vigorous  is  proved 
by  the  record.  They  lived  hundreds  of  years 
"begat  sons  and  daughters  and  died."  The  pre- 
sumption here  is  in  favor  of  vegetarianism  as 
the  food  of  longevity.  There  is  no  such  record 
when  we  come  to  the  meat  eating  period.     See? 

Well,  if  we  are  not  able  to  positively  say  what 
you  should  eat,  we  can  help  out  a  good  deal  on 
how  you  should  eat.  There  is  quite  a  lot  in  it 
that  is  practical  and  useful,  and  better  than  all 
scientific — not  metaphysical. 

Now  let  us  see.  The  saliva  is  a  secretion 
which  performs  the  first  act  of  digestion  in  the 
mouth.  The  morsel  should  be  masticated  until 
it  is  thoroughly  saturated  with  the  digestive 
fluid  of  the  mouth.  It  will  then  swallow  easy, 
and  be  in  real  good  condition  to  be  properly 
acted  upon  by  the  gastric  juice  in  the  stomach, 
and  the  stomach  digestion  will  go  on  nicely  with- 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  95 

out  any  pain  or  trouble.  Now  if  you  wash  this 
mouthful  down  with  a  fluid  of  any  kind  you  rob 
it  of  its  proper  amount  of  digestive  ferment, 
and  the  work  will  not  go  on  properly.  Besides 
the  fluid,  pouring  down  into  the  stomach,  dilutes 
and  weakens  the  gastric  juice,  and  soon  dyspepsia, 
and  constipation,  and  piles,  and  bilious  fever, 
and  chills,  and  liver,  kidneys,  and  sick  headache, 
and  jaundice,  and  1001  evils  attack  you  which 
you  find  more  powerful  in  their  tenacity  than  all 
the  pills,  and  capsules,  and  powders,  and  boluses 

that  you  can  swallow.     You  played  the  

when  you  began  swallowing  a  mouthful  of  fluid 
with  a  bite.  Quit  it,  good  boy,  and  use  only 
nature's  lubricant.  You'll  find  no  use  for  Dr. 
Killem's  calomel,  nor  for  Dr.  Switchem's  Black 
Draught  (sic.)     See? 

Don't  drink  while  eating.  Hear  me?  Chew 
good  and  hard,  and  for  your  life  avoid  the  "bolt." 
Now  if  you  eat  in  that  style  you  will  find  life  a 
joy  forever.  Don't  exactly  know  whether  three 
set  meals  daily  are  necessary,  but  am  perfectly 
certain  that  no  meal  should  have  more  than  two 
dishes,  and  that  no  person  at  any  sitting  should 
eat  the  last  bite. 

DRINK? 
Yes,  I  think  so.  The  pure,  rich  distillation 
from  the  bountiful  breast  of  mother  nature — 
water,  sparkling  water.  At  least  five  pints  of  it 
daily.  Never  till  two  hours  after  a  meal,  and 
never  to  be  swallowed  in  gulps!  Slowly  and  in 
sips.  The  water  needs  to  be  insalivated  as  well 
as  the  food.  How  about  hot  water  before  meals? 
Oh,  I  am  not  writing  for  invalids.  What  about 
tea,  coffee,  etc.  ?  I  have  no  opinion  to  offer.  Pure, 
sparkling,  crystal  water  is  nature's  product  for 


96  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

animal  and  vegetable  thirst.    You'll  find  it  hard 
to  beat. 

THE  BATH 

I've  about  said  all  I  deem  necessary  on  this 
therapeutic  agent,  but  there  is  a  special  internal 
bath  which  I  must  recommend  to  your  special 
consideration.  Get  a  good  fountain  syringe. 
Heat  water  till  comfortably  warm.  Lie  down 
some  place.  Insert  the  nozzle  in  the  rectum  and 
flush  out  rectum  and  colon;  use  lots  of  water. 
Do  this  once  a  week  in  health,  and  two  or  three 
times  a  week  when  "poorly."  There  is  always 
danger  of  undigested  and  effete  matter  lodging 
in  the  colon.  This  is  absorbed  into  the  system 
and  breeds  disease.  The  hot  water  not  only 
flushes  it  out  but  also  the  moist  heat  gives 
strength  to  the  nerves  which  control  the  bowels. 
This  is  the  great  secret  out  of  which  Dr.  Hall 
made  about  $1,000,000.  I  give  it  to  you  here 
with  other  greater  life  secrets  for  a  dollar !  Say. 
Don't  neglect  this. 

TOBACCO 

I  think  in  every  case  it  is  bad.  Whatever 
drug  produces  an  appetite  and  craving  for  its 
use  lowers  the  nerve  tone.  The  man  who  must 
have  tobacco  in  any  form  is  already  diseased. 
Now  I  am  no  crank,  but  this  is  a  simple  physio- 
logical fact.  I  would  not  use  tobacco  if  I  desired 
the  highest  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual  man- 
hood. The  same  principle  applies  to  all  narcotics. 
DRUGS 

All  drugs  are  poisons  to  life,  and  their  use 
always  injurious,  without  exception. 

THE  GENERATIVE  FUNCTIONS 

Procreation  is  the  most  awfully  solemn,  and 
holy  power  of  the  race.     On  this  plane  we  rival 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE    .  97 

the  God-head.  The  responsibility  of  projecting 
an  immortal  soul  into  eternal  consciousness  is 
too  stupendous  to  be  lightly  assumed.  The  special 
machinery  provided  for  this  creation  is  the  most 
honorable  and  sacred  of  nature.  To  abuse  this 
holy  organism  is  the  most  vile  and  enormous  of 
sins.  It  is  to  pollute  and  corrupt  a  race  at  the 
fountain  of  its  origin.  Yet  this  is  the  great  de- 
basing and  destructive  sin  of  the  age — aye  of 
almost  all  ages.  To  this  sin  may  be  attributed 
all  mis-shapen  humanity  and  almost  all  the  dis- 
eases, murders,  suicides,  etc.,  which  make  a 
tophet  of  this  fair  earth.  The  filthy  stream,  de- 
scending through  polluted  channels,  carries  with 
it  the  infernal  corruption  by  which,  through  the 
laws  of  heredity,  God  visits  the  sins  of  the  fathers 
on  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  gener- 
ation. The  semen  is  a  vital  fluid  whose  waste 
brings  death.  Unexpended  it  is  worked  back 
into  the  system  by  absorption  and  gives  strength, 
and  snap,  and  vigor  to  body  and  mind.  It  pro- 
duces in  the  man  a  magnetism  of  rich,  attractive 
and  curative  power  peculiar  to  itself.  Those  men 
who  retain  this  fluid  without  expending  it  in 
carnal  alliance  are  men  of  God-power.  If  you 
will  live  long;  if  you  will  enjoy  the  highest  life; 
then  use  these  organs  only  as  nature  intended, 
for  procreation  alone.  Any  further  use  is  a  sin 
against  yourself,  and  against  the  coming  man, 
who  must  suffer  the  consequences  of  your  grati- 
fication of  unholy  passion,  altho  he  was  not  able 
to  prevent,  being  then  only  a  speck,  undeveloped 
in  the  great  ocean  of  spirit  life,  which  is  con- 
tinually projecting  its  parts  to  be  individualized. 
"Preserve  your  vessel  in  sanctification  and  honor." 


98  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

SLEEP 

Don't  expect  to  live  long  or  be  healthy  with- 
out abundance  of  "tired  nature's  sweet  restorer." 
Sleep  is  the  food  for  brain  cells,  and  the  brain 
is  the  worker.  Don't  rob  him.  You  can't  with 
impunity  take  a  few  hours  from  the  night  to 
lengthen  the  day.  The  practice  will  very  ma- 
terially shorten  your  own  days.  Eight  to  ten 
hours  nightly  of  good  healthful  sleep  will  make 
the  world  skip  for  you.    Take  it. 

PART  II 

THE  MENTAL 

Now  having  finished  the  physical,  we  come  to 
the  spiritual,  and  mental  hygiene. 

Our  spiritual  nature  connects  us  with  God, 
and  brings  us  into  the  forces  and  powers  of  the 
unseen.  According  to  our  own  desire  these  forces 
will  be  beneficial  or  injurious.  There  is  a  "Prince 
of  the  Power  of  the  Air,  the  Spirit  that  now 
worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience."  Ep. 
2:3.  There  is  a  spirit  of  God  that  giveth  life, 
health,  power  to,  and  in  all  who  desire.  "God 
is  spirit."  John  4:24.  "It  is  the  spirit  that 
quickeneth."     John  6:63. 

Now  in  obedience  to  the  individual  desire 
these  two  antagonistic  spirits  will  influence  the 
human  spirit,  and  produce  health  or  disease  ac- 
cording to  which  spirit  is  desired.  For  it  is 
desire  that  controls.  Now  if  we  desire  the  good 
spirit,  which  is  of  God,  here  is  the  result :  "God 
that  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein,  see- 
ing that  he  is  Lord  of  heavens  and  earth,  dwelleth 
not  in  temples  made  with  hands;  neither  is  wor- 
shipped with  men's  hands,  as  though  he  needed 
anything,  seeing  he  giveth  to  all  life,  and  breath, 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  99 

and  all  things;  *  *  *  For  in  him  we  live, 
and  move,  and  have  our  being;  as  certain  also 
of  your  own  poets  have  said.  For  we  are  also 
his  offspring."  Acts  17:24-28.  Secure  in  the 
power  of  God  dwelling  in  us  we  cannot  suffer 
disease.  If  we  do  suffer  disease  it  is  always  be- 
cause of  some  disobedience.  All  laws  of  spiritual 
health  are  natural,  and  are  of  God.  By  these 
laws  the  spirit  worketh  in  us  all  growth,  health, 
happiness.  Violating  these  laws  produces  all  sin, 
disease,  inharmony  through  which  the  spirit  of 
evil  works  in  us  the  suffering  by  which  we  are 
punished,  and  which  suffering  itself  is  designed 
by  the  All  Spirit,  God,  as  a  means  of  chastise- 
ment that  we  may  be  restored.  To  be  strong, 
vigorous,  let  us  walk  in  the  spirit.  This  is  ours 
in  answer  to  desire,  which  is  prayer  always  ex- 
pressing itself  on  the  spiritual  plane.  Also  be 
sure  that  you  have  your  closet,  as  Christ  teaches 
in  Matt.  6:6.  "Living  in  this  spirit  you  cannot 
be  sick — save  that  you  may  be  suffering  in  her- 
edity for  your  ancestors'  sins.  And  even  this 
God  is  able  to  overcome.  "Because  thou  hast 
made  the  Lord  which  is  my  refuge,  even  the 
Most  High,  thy  habitation,  there  shall  no  evil 
befall  thee,  neither  shall  any  plague  come  nigh 
thy  dwelling."  Psalm  91 :9-10.  Then  breathe  in 
this  spirit  of  God,  pray  for  it,  attract  it  by  de- 
sire, and  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  in  whom  dwelleth 
all  the  fullness  of  the  God-head  bodily. 

This  spirit  is  the  real  life.  By  it  the  tissues 
are  built  up  and  the  body  made  strong.  It  was 
under  the  afflatus  of  the  spirit  that  Sampson  did 
his  wondrous  feats  of  strength.  Lying  all  around 
you,  awaiting  your  call,  under  the  law  of  its  own 
action,  is  this  spirit.  Life  limitless  in  boundless 
oceans,  awaits  your  call  to  fill  up  all  your  needs. 


100  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

In  constant  influx  and  efflux  is  this  mighty  life 
sustaining  all  flesh.  Breathe  it  in  with  every 
breath  in  abundance,  attract  it  by  desire  and  use 
it  by  thought. 

MAGNETISM 
is  but  the  working  of  this  spirit  of  life.  In  pro- 
portion as  you  possess  this  subtle  agent,  in  pro- 
portion are  you  efficient.  The  brain  is  the  great 
store  house  of  magnetism,  which  it  distributes 
to  the  body  by  the  nerves.  To  be  magnetic  you 
must  faithfully  carry  out  the  rules  of  living  laid 
down  in  this  book  and  in  a  short  time  you  will 
possess  all  the  magnetism  you  can  use.  Mag- 
netism is  a  force,  therefore  motion,  and  hence 
vibratory,  as  force  or  motion  is  by  vibration. 
There  is  no  death  in  all  God's  universe.  Nothing 
is  standing  still.  There  is  no  reservoir  of  pent 
up  magnetism  in  you  or  in  any  other.  You  are 
merely  a  conductor  through  which  it  passes.  In 
continuous  influx  and  outflow,  this  mysterious 
life-bearer  and  form  creator  works  in  you  and 
in  all  animate,  vegitate,  and  mineral  nature.  In 
each,  working  after  its  kind.  You  draw  it  from 
the  sun,  the  clouds,  the  air,  the  earth,  and  all 
your  environments.  You  part  with  it  to  these 
in  turn.  The  inflow  and  outflow  are  continuous. 
In  order  to  be  efficiently  magnetic  you  must  know 
how  to  think. 

THINKING 
Thought  is  the  origin  and  sustainer  of  all 
force.  Nothing  without  thought.  Thought  is 
the  creator  out  of  which  all  things  spring.  No 
instrument,  no  fabric,  no  structure,  no  form 
which  did  not  exist  first  in  idea,  before  it  assumed 
substance  and  became  tangible  on  the  physical 
plane.    By  thought,  human  character  and  nature 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  101 

are  builded.  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so 
is  he."  By  thought  the  universe  is  All  that  the 
eye  can  see,  the  ear  hear,  or  the  hand  touch  is 
the  product  of  thought.  "Through  faith  we  un- 
derstand that  the  worlds  were  framed  by  the 
word  (thought)  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are 
seen  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear." 

Thought  is  spirit  creating.  So  that  thoughts 
are  things,  living  things,  immortal  things,  im- 
perishable things.  Thought  rules,  governs,  com- 
pels, impels,  builds  up,  pulls  down,  destroys  and 
creates.  It  is  the  active  force  of  omnipotence. 
"The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit 
and  they  are  life." — Christ. 

Now  in  order  to  long  life,  to  health,  to  com- 
fort, to  happiness,  you  must  train  your  will,  so 
that  you  can  command  your  thinking.  You  must 
control  and  direct  your  thinking.  It  must  not 
you.  As  the  controller  you  are  master;  as  the 
controlled  you  are  a  slave. 

The  health  and  life  are  controlled  by  thought. 
Just  think  for  a  moment  how  gloom,  and  grief, 
and  worry  depress,  and  finally  wear  out  life. 
How  many  people  die  of  grief?  Think  of  the 
power  of  thought  when  in  multitudes  of  cases  it 
produces  instantaneous  death,  and  in  millions 
death  by  the  slow  process  of  disintegration.  You 
know  that  thousands  of  people  have  died  instantly 
of  fright,  shock,  grief,  the  result  of  sudden  thought 
bringing  to  their  consciousness,  news  which  even 
may  not  have  been  true.  Yet  the  thought  work- 
ing by  faith,  killed  the  physical  organism.  Sim- 
ilarly joy,  sudden,  ecstatic,  has  slain  its  thousands. 

You  Must  Train  Your  Will  to  Command  Your 
Emotions,  and  You  Must  Steadily  Reject  all 
Thoughts  of  Gloomy,  or  Unsuccessful,  or  Disease 
character  or  coloring,  and  fill,  and  Surround  your- 


102  EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE 

self  with  Thought  of  Health,  Life  Cheerfulness, 
Happiness,  Success,  Triumph.  If  you  do  this  you 
will  never  be  sick.  You  Cannot  Be  Sick,  for 
thought  Creates  all  Things,  Including  Sickness, 
and  Health,  and  is  Omnipotent. 

Preserve  a  placid  temper;  a  fit  of  anger  will 
poison  every  secretion,  and  disease  the  whole 
man.  Fill  your  whole  being  with  love.  God  is 
Love.  Forgive  those  who  sin  against  you.  Love 
your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you.  Thus 
in  the  spirit  of  harmony,  which  is  the  spirit 
of  God,  you  shall  enjoy  the  tranquillity  of  heaven, 
the  immortality  of  spirit,  and  the  exhilarations 
of  perfect  health,  while  the  increasing  years  will 
bring  ripeness,  as  the  glory  dawns,  and  you  will 
pass  upward  full  of  years. 

Daily,  and  constantly,  give  yourself  health 
treatments  in  the  spirit.  Assert  your  immortal 
origin,  possession.  Say  in  faith,  "I  am  spirit." 
"I  am  the  spirit  of  God  individualized."  "I  am 
sustained  by  the  spirit  of  God."  "Spirit  is  not 
sick,  therefore  I  am  not  sick,  and  cannot  be." 
"Spirit  does  not  grow  old,  therefore  I  am  not 
old,  and  cannot  be."  Deny  sickness  and  don't 
permit  the  thought  of  disease  to  enter  your  mind. 
The  constant  reiteration  of  these  thoughts  will 
impress  your  own  spirit,  which  is  the  active 
servant  of  your  will  and,  in  its  work  of  building, 
the  spirit  will  weave  these  thoughts  into  your 
constitution,  and  you  cannot  be  diseased,  pro- 
vided you  carry  out  the  principle  of  these  asser- 
tions in  a  life  obedient  to  the  laws  of  health  and 
purity. 

Lastly  in  the  silence  of  regualr  meditation, 
meet  with,  and  put  on  God.  "If  ye  abide  in  me 
and  my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what 
ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you."    "Because 


EFFICIENCY  OF  LIFE  W3 

thou  has  made  the  Lord,  which  is  my  refuge,  even 
the  Most  High,  thy  habitation,  there  shall  no 
evil  befall  thee,  neither  shall  any  plague  come 
nigh  thy  dwelling."  "With  Long  Life  will  I 
satisfy  him,  and  show  him  my  salvation." 


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